Peroperative haemorrhage and epidural anaesthesia in major abdominal surgery. A retrospective study

The preoperative blood loss during resection of the colon, abdominal-perineal excision of the rectum and cystectomy, according to the method of Bricker, was studied from anaesthetic reports. The period under study was 18 months. A total of 97 patients were divied into two main groups according to the type of anaesthesia (general anaesthesia and general anaesthesia combined with epidural analgesia), as well as into sub-groups according to the type of operation. An evaluation was made of the blood loss, peroperative mean arterial blood pressure and the duration of the operation. In contrast to reports published earlier on other types of operation, we have been unable to demonstrate a significant reduction in the blood loss of patients given general anaesthesia plus epidural analgesia, despite a lower mean arterial blood pressure during the operation. We ignored any possible postoperative beneficial effect of epidural anaesthesia.