THE USE OF ETHANOL-TAGGED MANNITOL IN TRANSURETHRAL RESECTION OF THE PROSTATE DOES NOT ALTER THE BLEEDING-TIME IN PATIENTS WHO ABSORB IRRIGATION FLUID

To increase patient safety ethanol tagging of irrigation fluid is prac tised at several hospitals in Sweden to detect absorption of irrigatio n fluid during transurethral prostatic resection. Using this method it is found that almost half of the patients undergoing transurethral pr ostatic resections absorb irrigation fluid to some extent. Patients ab sorbing irrigation fluid bleed more than others. The phenomenon has be en blamed on the open veins and sinusoides. Further, these patients ar e older, have larger prostates and longer operating times. To exclude an effect of ethanol-tagged irrigation fluid on the skin bleeding time this was measured before and after the operation in 57 patients. In 1 8 (32%) 160-1760 ml of irrigation fluid was absorbed, and in 9 patient s over 480 ml. No difference in skin bleeding time emerged between abs orbers and non-absorbers, and absorbers showed no differences in bleed ing time between preoperative and postoperative values. There was a sl ight but insignificant decrease in the skin bleeding time after the op eration in both absorbers and non-absorbers.