Impact of leukocyte-depleted red blood cells transfusion on postoperative infections in chronic alcoholics with major abdominal surgery

Iulia Cîndea, Alina Balcan, Gh. Nicolae, V. Gherghina
Clinica Anestezie-Terapie Intensivă, Spitalul Clinic Judeţean de Urgenţă, Constanţa

Abstract

Background and goal of study: Major abdominal surgery involves important intra- and postoperative blood losses. On the other hand, chronic alcoholic candidates for such procedures recognize an increased risk for bleeding complications. The simultaneity of these two independent factors requires adequate hemoglobin correction by transfusions that are well known for their risk of postoperative infections due to immunosuppressive effect of leukocytes. The goal of this retrospective observational study is to evaluate the impact of leukocyte-depleted red blood cells transfusions on the incidence of postoperative infections in chronic alcoholics with elective major abdominal procedures.
Materials and methods: We analyzed 134 patients with documented chronic alcohol misuse that had underwent major abdominal procedures during a period of one year. These subjects were allocated into two groups: group A (n = 65) with leukocyte-depleted red blood cells transfusion therapy, respectively group B (n = 69) that had received non-leukocyte-depleted red blood cells products. We retrospectively investigated the incidence of postoperative infections and length of hospital stay in both groups in order to comparatively analyse these findings. T-Student was used for statistical analysis.
Results and discussions: Demographic and surgical variables were not different between the two groups. The level of perioperative coagulation parameters and transfusion requirements were similar, too. No significant difference was recorded neither in postoperative infection incidence (12 meaning 18.5% versus 13 meaning 18.8%, p = 0.9), nor in hospital stay length (17.3 ± 0.9 versus 19.1 ± 0.6 days, p = 0.9) between the groups.
Conclusions: These data did not conclusively demonstrate any possible advantage of leukocyte-depleted red blood cells products concerning the rate of postoperative infectious complications, as well as the hospitalization duration for alcoholics undergoing elective abdominal major surgery.
Key words: alcoholics, abdominal surgery, transfusion, postoperative infections

Impactul transfuziei de eritrocite deleucocitizate asupra infecţiilor postoperatorii la alcoolicii cronici cu intervenţii abdominale majore

Jurnalul Român de Anestezie Terapie intensivă 2007, Vol.14, Nr.2, 94-97