Assessing the body mass index of patients might help to predict blood loss during radical retropubic prostatectomy in Korean men.

OBJECTIVE To examine the intraoperative blood loss and patient characteristics in patients treated with radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP), to determine the independent risk factors that predict increased blood loss and transfusion requirements in Korean men. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analysed the records of 264 consecutive patients who had RRP; all medical records were reviewed for various factors before RRP, including prostate volume and body mass index (BMI), and during RRP, e.g. operative duration, estimated blood loss (EBL), calculated blood loss (CBL) and neurovascular bundle preservation. We evaluated differences in clinical characteristics and intraoperative factors in patients categorised by BMI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between preoperative independent variables and endpoints related to a high CBL. RESULTS The mean EBL was lower than the CBL (387.3 vs 716.9 mL). When the group of men was stratified by BMI, although the difference in mean EBL (P = 0.160) and transfusion rate (P = 0.511) among normal, overweight and obese categories were not statistically significant, the difference in mean CBL (P = 0.011) and operative duration (P = 0.022) was statistically significantly higher in overweight and obese men. Patients who had their neurovascular bundles preserved had no statistically differences in CBL, EBL and operative duration from those with did not. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that BMI was the only preoperative variable that predicted a high CBL. CONCLUSIONS The EBL was underestimated by the CBL, and the BMI was the only predictor before RRP of blood loss during RRP in these Korean men.