Risk factors for indications of intraoperative blood transfusion among patients undergoing surgical treatment for colorectal adenocarcinoma.

CONTEXT Identification of risk factors for requiring transfusions during surgery for colorectal cancer may lead to preventive actions or alternative measures, towards decreasing the use of blood components in these procedures, and also rationalization of resources use in hemotherapy services. This was a retrospective case-control study using data from 383 patients who were treated surgically for colorectal adenocarcinoma at 'Fundação Pio XII', in Barretos-SP, Brazil, between 1999 and 2003. OBJECTIVE To recognize significant risk factors for requiring intraoperative blood transfusion in colorectal cancer surgical procedures. METHODS Univariate analyses were performed using Fisher's exact test or the chi-squared test for dichotomous variables and Student's t test for continuous variables, followed by multivariate analysis using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS In the univariate analyses, height (P = 0.06), glycemia (P = 0.05), previous abdominal or pelvic surgery (P = 0.031), abdominoperineal surgery (P<0.001), extended surgery (P<0.001) and intervention with radical intent (P<0.001) were considered significant. In the multivariate analysis using logistic regression, intervention with radical intent (OR = 10.249, P<0.001, 95% CI = 3.071-34.212) and abdominoperineal amputation (OR = 3.096, P = 0.04, 95% CI = 1.445-6.623) were considered to be independently significant. CONCLUSION This investigation allows the conclusion that radical intervention and the abdominoperineal procedure in the surgical treatment of colorectal adenocarcinoma are risk factors for requiring intraoperative blood transfusion.