title: Evaluation of current practices in routine preoperative crossmatching for transurethral resection of the prostate.
abstract: Increasing demand for blood during elective surgery has led to attempts to rationalize routine preoperative crossmatching to those operations when there is a reasonable (greater than 30%) chance of it being required. Results of a questionnaire returned by 86% of the urology units in Great Britain show that 41% continue to crossmatch 2 units of blood before transurethral prostatectomy. A review of 301 transurethral prostatectomies performed with preoperative grouping and saving of blood showed that only 11% of the patients required transfusion. The need for transfusion was significantly associated with presentation in chronic or acute on chronic retention (p < 0.01), and the operative factors of weight of resection (p < 0.0001) and degree of hemostasis (p < 0.001). Therefore, a policy of routine preoperative blood grouping and saving is safe, and could be widely adopted, leading to financial saving and a decrease in wastage of blood that becomes too old to use.
authors.affiliation: Area Urological Service, Leiscester General Hospital, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Everitt
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Flynn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011467:Prostate / Q000473:pathology; D011468:Prostatectomy; D006113:United Kingdom