Usefulness of autologous blood transfusion for avoiding allogenic transfusion and infectious complications after esophageal cancer resection

Background. A retrospective investigation was conducted to determine whethe r autologous blood collection could reduce allogenic transfusion after rese ction of esophageal cancer and whether allogenic transfusion influenced pos toperative infection. Methods. Patients (n = 100) who met the criteria for hemoglobin, age, body weight, and serum protein donated 800 mL of a autologous blood from May 199 4 to December 1997. The control group (n = 248) was selected from patients who met the same criteria and did not donate autologous blood over the 10 y ears before the start of autologous blood collection. Results. Only three patients (3%) from the autologous group required alloge nic transfusion versus 84 patients (33.7%) from the control group. Sixteen of the 26 patients who received more than 4 units of allogenic blood contra cted postoperative infections compared with 25 of 165 patients who did not (P < .0001). Autologous blood transfusion significantly increased the proba bility of avoiding allogenic transfusion (odds ratio, 27.58), and allogenic transfusion was significantly related to postoperative infection (odds rat io, 1.19), according to logistic regression analysis. Conclusions. Autologous blood collection reduces the need for allogenic tra nsfusion in patients undergoing resection of esophageal cancer; and avoidan ce of allogenic transfusion may reduce the risk of postoperative infection.