Role of blood transfusion in organ system failure following major abdominal surgery.

Using multivariate probit analysis, the data of 565 patients who underwent major abdominal surgery were retrospectively analyzed, and the etiologic role of blood transfusion in organ system failure (OSF), which includes respiratory failure, gastrointestinal stress bleeding, renal failure, nonobstructive, nonhepatitic jaundice, and coagulopathy, was studied. Apart from the amount of blood transfusion, the following factors were included in the analysis as possible contributors to OSF: age, preoperative hematocrit, organ failure risk (diffuse peritonitis, obstructive cholangitis, liver cirrhosis, terminal cancer, and hemorrhagic shock), operative time, blood loss, and postoperative highest hematocrit. The results showed that, except for preoperative hematocrit, all the factors are statistically significant contributors, blood transfusion being the most significant. There was no statistically significant interaction between blood transfusion and organ failure risk. It is concluded that blood transfusion is an important, independent factor contributing to OSF, and its contribution cannot be attributed to the underlying conditions that require blood transfusion.