[Allogenic blood transfusion and postoperative outcome -5-year experience in a digestive surgery unit]

The paper presents a retrospective study of a digestive surgery unit, evaluating the outcome of the patients who were operated and received blood transfusions over a 5 years time, compared with a random sample of patients operated during the same period and who did not receive transfusions. The patients were stratified by the type of operation and the ASA criteria. The paper also briefly reviews the literature on this topic. The study noted a prolonged postoperative course and overall hospitalization time, and an increase in the infectious complications and mortality rates in the study group, compared to the control group. The results of the study support a transfusion practice policy based on strict indications, and the use of alternatives to transfusion, whenever available.