A one year trend of blood loss during transurethral resection of the prostate as seen at urology department, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi, Tanzania: Do we avoid unnecessary blood transfusion

Background: Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) remains the Gold Standard surgical treatment of Benign Prostate Enlargement. Hemorrhage during and after TURP can lead to significant morbidity and occasionally prove fatal. Objective: Our study aimed to evaluate the trend of blood loss in transurethral resection of the prostate for patients who presented with benign prostate enlargement at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC), Tanzania. Methods: This was a one year hospital based descriptive, retrospective study conducted by using a structured data collecting tool. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A total of 72 case notes ofpatients treated for Benign prostate enlargement by TURP in a period of one year were enrolled and reviewed, all of them were operated underregional spinal anesthesia of which 36.1% had prostate weight ranging from 61-80 followed by31.9% with 41-60grams, few patients had prostate weight less than 40 grams. Majority of the patients, 63(86.7%) with prostate weight above 41 grams had more blood loss accompanied with prolonged resection time of more than 60 minutes compared with those with prostate weight less than 40grams. Most of our patients 49(68.1%)were transfused one to two unit(s) of whole blood depending on indication(s). Conclusion: Blood loss during TURP is correlated positively with the increase in prostate weight and resection time although the type of anesthesia might influence blood loss.