You are reviewing a 72-year-old woman in the anaesthetic bay of a metropolitan hospital. She is scheduled for an elective left total hip replacement and was previously assessed in the pre-anaesthetic clinic two months ago. Two years prior she underwent a right total knee replacement, which was complicated by a 48-hour High Dependency Admission as she was “slow to wake up” and required supplemental oxygen therapy.
Medical history:
Hypertension
Obesity (body mass index 41 kg/m2)
Medications:
Atorvastatin 20 mg daily
Candesartan/hydrochlorothiazide 16/12.5 mg daily
Outline the areas of focus in your preoperative assessment of this patient.