Fig. 1
From: Depression and postoperative complications: an overview
A framework for counselling interventions in major surgery patients. The numbers refer to answers to key questions as follows: (1) There are not enough studies comparing surgery with non-surgery cohorts. (2) There are potential adverse effects of treatment and/or its failure (3) and (4). There is a need for randomized and controlled trials to prove the efficacy of screening and/or treatment of depression before anesthesia and surgery in reducing postoperative morbidity and mortality.