• Patrick Y Wuethrich, Urs E Studer, George N Thalmann, and Fiona C Burkhard.
• Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Therapy, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
• Eur. Urol. 2014 Aug 1;66(2):352-60.

BackgroundOpen radical cystectomy (ORC) is associated with substantial blood loss and a high incidence of perioperative blood transfusions. Strategies to reduce blood loss and blood transfusion are warranted.ObjectiveTo determine whether continuous norepinephrine administration combined with intraoperative restrictive hydration with Ringer's maleate solution can reduce blood loss and the need for blood transfusion.Design, Setting, And ParticipantsThis was a double-blind, randomised, parallel-group, single-centre trial including 166 consecutive patients undergoing ORC with urinary diversion (UD). Exclusion criteria were severe hepatic or renal dysfunction, congestive heart failure, and contraindications to epidural analgesia.InterventionPatients were randomly allocated to continuous norepinephrine administration starting with 2 μg/kg per hour combined with 1 ml/kg per hour until the bladder was removed, then to 3 ml/kg per hour of Ringer's maleate solution (norepinephrine/low-volume group) or 6 ml/kg per hour of Ringer's maleate solution throughout surgery (control group).Outcome Measurements And Statistical AnalysisIntraoperative blood loss and the percentage of patients requiring blood transfusions perioperatively were assessed. Data were analysed using nonparametric statistical models.Results And LimitationsTotal median blood loss was 800 ml (range: 300-1700) in the norepinephrine/low-volume group versus 1200 ml (range: 400-2800) in the control group (p<0.0001). In the norepinephrine/low-volume group, 27 of 83 patients (33%) required an average of 1.8 U (±0.8) of packed red blood cells (PRBCs). In the control group, 50 of 83 patients (60%) required an average of 2.9 U (±2.1) of PRBCs during hospitalisation (relative risk: 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38-0.77; p=0.0006). The absolute reduction in transfusion rate throughout hospitalisation was 28% (95% CI, 12-45). In this study, surgery was performed by three high-volume surgeons using a standardised technique, so whether these significant results are reproducible in other centres needs to be shown.ConclusionsContinuous norepinephrine administration combined with restrictive hydration significantly reduces intraoperative blood loss, the rate of blood transfusions, and the number of PRBC units required per patient undergoing ORC with UD.Copyright © 2013 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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