Perioperative anesthetic management of patients with diabetes mellitus: Focused on blood glucose control

Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disease characterized by elevated blood glucose, which results in damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidney, and nervous system. The incidence of diabetes mellitus has increased in Korea due to longer life expectancy or lifestyle improvement. Since diabetes affects multiple organs including the cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and autonomic nervous systems, the risk of postoperative complications such as wound infection and cardiovascular events might be increased in patients with diabetes. In addition to postoperative complications, hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia in diabetes may also cause serious problems during surgery. Preoperative fasting and surgical stress may contribute to the derangement of the patient's physiological status. For appropriate management of diabetic patients in the perioperative period, patients should be evaluated in detail preoperatively and their blood glucose levels should be checked repeatedly during the surgery and even after surgery. The present paper reviews preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative management of patients with diabetes.