Perioperative blood transfusions increases the risk of anastomotic leakage after surgery for GEJ-cancer

Perioperative Blood Transfusions and Anastomotic Leak After Colorectal Surgery for Cancer in an Australian Hospital

PURPOSE

Peri-operative blood transfusion has been identified as a risk factor for anastomotic leak in recent studies, but little is known about which patients are at risk for blood transfusion. This study aims to assess the relationship between blood transfusion and anastomotic leak and factors predisposing to leak in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Australia, between 2010 and 2019. A total of 522 patients underwent resection of colorectal cancer with primary anastomosis with no covering stoma and the prevalence of anastomotic leak was compared between those who had had perioperative blood transfusion(s) and those who had not.

RESULTS

A total of 19 of 522 patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer had developed an anastomotic leak (3.64%). 11.3% of patients who had had a perioperative blood transfusion developed an anastomotic leak whereas 2.2% of patients who had not had a blood transfusion developed an anastomotic leak (p = 0.0002). Patients undergoing procedure on their right colon had proportionally more blood transfusions and this approached statistical significance (p = 0.06). Patients who received a greater quantity of units of blood transfusion prior to their diagnosis of anastomotic leak were more likely to develop an anastomotic leak (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Perioperative blood transfusions are associated with a significantly increased risk of an anastomotic leak following bowel resection with primary anastomosis for colorectal cancer.

Prognostic Value of Intraoperative Blood Transfusion in Patients with Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagogastric Junction

Background and objectives: Adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) has a complicated surgical anatomy, due to which it sometimes induces excessive intraoperative blood loss that necessitates intraoperative blood transfusion (BTF). However, few reports have focused on the impact of BTF on the survival outcomes of patients with AEG. We aimed to evaluate the impact of BTF on AEG prognosis. Materials andMethods: We included 63 patients who underwent surgical resection for AEG at our hospital between January 2010 and September 2020. Clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes were compared between patients with (n = 12) and without (n = 51) BTF. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Results: None of the patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery received BTF. Patients who received BTF had a significantly worse 5-year survival rate than those who did not (67.8% vs. 28.3%, p = 0.001). BTF was an independent risk factor for overall survival (hazard ratio: 3.90, 95% confidence interval 1.30–11.7), even after patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery were excluded. Conclusions: BTF adversely affected the survival outcomes of patients with AEG who underwent curative surgery. To avoid BTF, surgeons should strive to minimize intraoperative bleeding.

Gastric cancer surgery: clinical outcomes and prognosis are influenced by perioperative blood transfusions

Gastric cancer in patients is often associated with bleeding; when it occurs, especially in the presence of an anemia, a transfusion is necessary to avoid further deterioration of the patient's clinical state. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the administration of peri-operative transfusions due to the anemia or the clinical status and the post-operative clinical outcomes. 188 patients diagnosed with of gastric cancer were recruited at Surgery 2 of the Department of General and Specialist Surgery of the Tertiary Care Hospital "A. Cardarelli" of Naples. All patients had a total or a subtotal gastrectomy accompanied by D2 lymphectomy for gastric cancer. The clinical data most frequently associated with blood transfusion is the appearance of a post-operative infection (OR 2.26, 95% CI 0.87-5.79, P = 0.061). If the administration time of transfusion is considered, the clinical outcomes are different: preoperative transfusions showed a higher incidence of infections (OR 2.26, 95% CI 0.87-5.79, P = 0.061) and acute renal failure (OR 2.82, 95% CI 0.70-10.78, P = 0.078); patients who received intra or post-operative transfusions showed a prolonged hospitalization (OR 8.66, 95% CI 1.73-83.00, P = 0.002). The administration of blood products in the perioperative period is correlated in a statistically significant manner to the incidence of infections, acute renal failure and prolonged hospitalization; therefore, transfusions should be avoided unless clinically necessary and in particular intraoperative transfusions should be avoided because the immunomodulation effect linked to surgical stress may be enhanced hence worsening the prognosis.

Perioperative Mortality in Cancer Esophagus-a Case Control Study at a High-Volume Regional Cancer Center in South India

Surgery for esophageal cancers carries high rates of morbidity and mortality despite improvements in perioperative care especially with increasingly safe anesthesia and postoperative ICU care. A case control study was conducted on 713 patients operated for esophageal cancer over a period of 8 years (2009-2016). Multiple preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative clinical and laboratory parameters were compared between patients who succumbed to the surgery, i.e., 30-day mortality, and those who did not. Of the preoperative parameters, age > 58.5 years (p = 0.01), history of dysphagia with significant weight loss (p = 0.028), diabetes (p = 0.002), ischemic cardiac disease (p = 0.0001), low FEV1 < 69.5% (p = 0.036), preoperative length of hospital stay > 6.94 days (p = 0.001), involvement of gastroesophageal junction (p = 0.04), and ASA score > 2 (p = 0.002) were significantly associated with perioperative mortality. Intraoperatively, blood loss (p = 0.003), intraoperative (p = 0.015) and postoperative (p = 0.0001) blood transfusion, splenectomy (p = 0.0001), and excessive intraoperative intravenous fluids (p = 0.003) were associated with mortality. Decreased postoperative day 1 serum albumin level < 2.38 mg/dl (p = 0.0001), increased ICU stay > 7.32 days (SD+/- = 6.28, p = 0.03), number of positive lymph nodes > 2.97 (SD+/- = 4.19, p = 0.013), conduit necrosis (p = 0.0001), recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (p = 0.013), pulmonary venous thromboembolism (p = 0.0001), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (p = 0.0001), LRTI (p = 0.0001), arrhythmia (p = 0.005), sepsis (p = 0.0001), and ARDS (p = 0.0001) were the postoperative complications that were significantly associated with mortality. Comprehensive patient care involving preoperative optimization, improved surgical skills, rigorous intraoperative fluid management, and dedicated intensive care units will continue to play a major role in further minimizing mortality and morbidity associated with esophageal cancer surgeries.