Influence of anesthesia on blood loss during prostatic resection

Abstract

Objective: The volume of blood loss during prostatic resection (TURP) is determined by a number of factors. The aim of the present study was to ascertain the independent effect of a general or a spinal anaesthetic on the amount of intraoperative blood loss. Patients and methods: A total of 110 patients treated by TURP, were entered in to a prospective study. The mean age of the patients was 71 years (range 45-91). Sixty-six patients (60%) received a spinal and 44 (40%) had a general anaesthetic ; 80 % of resections were benign and 20 % for malignant disease. The mean resected weight was 29.7grams (range 3-100) and the mean resection time was 28.9 minutes (range 5 - 60). The volume of blood loss was calculated by a well described method and the mean loss was 319mls (range 6 - 1587). Results: The mean weight of the resected prostate tissue and the volume of blood loss was significantly high in patients who had received a spinal anaesthetic (p=0.001 and p=0.005 respectively). However, when the independent i nfluence of the type of anaesthesia and the resected weight on blood loss was analysed, it was found that the former had no significant effect (p=0.28) whereas the later influenced very significantly (p<0.001). Blood transfusion requirement was similar in both groups and no hypotensive episodes were recorded. Conclusion: Although previous studies have suggested that spinal anaesthesia reduces blood loss during prostatic resection, however, the present study fails to confirm this association