Detrimental effects of fresh frozen plasma transfusions on postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Perioperative fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is commonly transfused to patients un-dergoing liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its impacts in this population remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association of perioperative FFP transfu-sion with short-term and long-term outcomes in these patients.Methods: We retrospectively identified and retrieved clinical data for HCC patients undergoing liver resection between March, 2007 and December, 2016. Study outcomes included postoper-ative bacterial infection, extended length of stay (LOS) and survival. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to determine the association of FFP transfusion with each outcome.Results: A total of 1427 patients were included, and 245 of them received perioperative FFP transfusions (17.2%). Patients received perioperative FFP transfusions were older, underwent liver resection in the earlier time period, and had more extensive resection, poorer clinical conditions, and higher proportions of receiving other blood components. Perioperative FFP transfusion was associated with higher odds of both postoperative bacterial infection (OR = 1.77, p = 0.020) and extended LOS (OR = 1.93, p=<0.001), and the results remained similar after PS-matching. However, perioperative FFP transfusion did not significantly affect survival in these patients (HR = 1.17, p = 0.185). A potential association of postoperative FFPtransfusions and poorer 5-year but not overall survival was observed in a subgroup of patients with low postoperative albumin levels after PS-matching.Conclusion: Perioperative FFP transfusions were associated with poorer short-term postoper-ative outcomes in HCC patients undergoing liver resection, including postoperative bacterial infection and extended LOS. Reducing perioperative FFP transfusions has the potential to improve their postoperative outcomes.Copyright (c) 2023, Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Perioperative fresh frozen plasma transfusion is associated with poorer short-term outcomes, including postoperative bacterial infection and extended length of stay, in hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing liver resection. Reducing perioperative fresh frozen plasma transfusions may improve postoperative outcomes.