Blood transfusion and its effect on the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing major lower extremity amputation.
BACKGROUND
Patients in need of lower extremity amputation are often debilitated and have coronary artery disease and underlying anemia. The transfusion of blood is a common practice in the perioperative management of these patients. However, blood transfusion has been reported to have a negative effect on the incidence of perioperative complications in other patient populations. We undertook this study to determine the effect of blood transfusion on the incidence of adverse postoperative events in patients undergoing major amputations.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective review of 300 consecutive patients undergoing either above-knee or below-knee amputation over a 5-year period at our institution. The demographic variables, medical comorbidities, need for blood transfusion, and clinical outcomes were recorded. The impact of blood transfusion on clinical outcome was analyzed.


RESULTS
Of the 300 patients undergoing major amputation, 191 (64%) had one or more blood transfusions. The demographic variables and incidence of medical comorbidities were comparable between the two groups. Patients undergoing blood transfusion were 2.5 more likely to suffer from a postoperative cardiac arrhythmia, 12.8 times more likely to develop acute renal failure, 5.7 times more likely to have pneumonia, and 2.2 times more likely to have a urinary tract infection. Each of these adverse postoperative events was statistically more likely in the transfused group. The postoperative mortality was 13% for the transfused group and 6% for those not transfused, which was a nonsignificant difference. The intensive care unit stay and overall hospital stay were significantly longer in patients who had blood transfusions (difference of 2.1 and 5.4 days, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Blood transfusion in patients undergoing major lower extremity amputation is associated with an increased incidence of adverse postoperative events and prolonged intensive care unit and hospital stays. We therefore suggest a restricted approach to blood transfusion in patients requiring major amputation.
D'Ayala
Marcus
M
Department of Surgery, New York Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA. mdd9004@nyp.org
Huzar
Todd
T
Briggs
William
W
Fahoum
Bashar
B
Wong
Shannon
S
Wise
Leslie
L
Tortolani
Anthony
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000401:mortality; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000401:mortality; D003422:Critical Care; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D016015:Logistic Models; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018579:Patient Selection; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D016896:Treatment Outcome