Correlation between organ-specific co-morbidities and complications in bladder cancer patients undergoing radical...

To evaluate the association between patients' organ-specific co-morbidities and post-operative complications following radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.

All patients who underwent radical cystectomy at Aarhus University Hospital during the period from January 2006 to February 2014 were included retrospectively. A total of 40 comorbidities and 59 complications were registered meticulously. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to detect associations between the individual comorbidities and specific post-operative complications.

Ninety-two per cent (575/625) of patients experienced one or more complications following radical cystectomy. Clavien-Dindo grade 3-5 complications were observed in 40.8% of patients, and 6.2% had severe complications (Clavien-Dindo grade 4-5). The mortality rate was 2.2%. High BM, previous myocardial infarction and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were noted to be associated with moderate-to-severe post-operative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade 3-5), while diabetes and lymphoproliferative disorders were significantly associated with severe complications (Clavien-Dindo grade 4-5).

This study demonstrates that overall complications to radical cystectomy are high (92%). The associations between specific comorbidities and complications need to be further investigated in order to evaluate whether pre-operative assessment can be more optimally used in a prevention strategy tailored to the individual patient.