Perioperative Fluid Administration and Complications in Emergency Gastrointestinal Surgery

Perioperative intravenous fluid therapy in the emergency setting aims to achieve several goals, not unlike the elective surgery setting: Correcting preoperative fluid, electrolyte, and blood imbalances (such as hypovolemia, dehydration, anemia, hypokalemia); meeting the basic fluid and electrolyte requirements of the body; covering losses that occur during surgery; maintaining physiological parameters (such as blood pressure and cardiac output) within a normal or acceptable range; continuing to replace both basic needs for fluid and electrolytes, and pathological fluid and electrolyte loss in the postoperative period, while keeping diuresis in an acceptable range. All of these goals should be pursued in accordance with physiological variables and current standards of care, as presented here, in order to minimize the risk of adverse effects.