The influence of intraoperative hypotension and perioperative blood transfusion on disease-free survival in patients with complete resection of colorectal liver metastases.

An increased interest in surgical treatment of liver metastases from colorectal origin has evolved recently. However not all patients benefit from this approach, with early recurrence and death still being encountered. To evaluate clinical as well as perioperative factors that might significantly affect the outcome of patients with completely resected colorectal liver metastases, we examined 116 patients who underwent resection between September 1987 and August 1989. Median follow-up time was 13.2 months (0.6 to 31.4 months). The overall survival rate was 91% at 1 year and 75% at 2 years. Median survival was not reached. Median disease-free survival time was 11.5 months, with 49.4% and 21.2% of the patients being free of disease at 1 and 2 years, respectively. By univariate analysis, site of primary colorectal cancer, preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, size of metastases, number of metastases, length of operation time, percentage mean arterial pressure, number of hypotensive episodes, duration of hypotensive episodes, and whole blood transfusion significantly affected recurrence rate following resection. However only site of primary tumor, CEA, number of metastases, and number of hypotensive episodes remained significant in the multivariate analysis. The most significant single factor that affected recurrence rate was the number of hypotensive episodes during the operative procedure. It is concluded that hypotensive episodes, even when well controlled, should be avoided during operation to maximize the chances of cure and prolong disease-free survival of patients with colorectal liver metastases.