Sodium nitroprusside-induced hypotension in radical thoraco-abdominal dissection of retroperitoneal lymph nodes

Blood loss and replacement in 57 consecutive otherwise healthy young patients undergoing radical thoraco-abdominal dissection of retroperitoneal lymph nodes is reviewed. Twenty-five patients received nitroprusside (hypotensive group); 32 patients (normotensive group) did not. Blood loss varied significantly between the hypotensive and normotensive groups: the mean loss (+/- SEM) was 920 +/- 72 ml for the hypotensive group compared with 1341 +/- 98 ml for the normotensive group (P < 0.001). The total blood requirement for the normotensive patients was three times that of the hypotensive group. The difference between the two groups was more apparent in patients with advanced disease.