[Do perioperative blood transfusions affect the postoperative recurrence rate in Crohn disease?]

The influence of perioperative blood transfusion on postoperative recurrence rate was investigated in 109 patients with Crohn's disease after primary surgery. 52 of the 109 patients had received transfusions during the perioperative period. The symptomatic recurrence rate 5 years after surgery was 31% in transfused and 33% in non-transfused patients (p = 0.99). The reoperation rates were 10% (transfused) and 12% (non-transfused) after 5 years respectively (p = 0.70). Therefore, the finding of decreased postoperative recurrence rates in patients who received perioperative blood transfusions cannot be supported by our results.