Blood loss in long-term aspirin users undergoing transurethral prostatectomy.

As aspirin is now widely used for preventing recurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders, many men selected for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) are aspirin users. The previous indication for aspirin as a preoperatively administered antithrombotic agent is no longer common. In this study we investigated the blood loss in long-term aspirin users (250 mg/day) undergoing TURP. The mean blood loss in the 40 aspirin users was 358 (range 50-1550) ml, and in a control group of 42 men it was 478 (40-2400) ml. When mean blood loss was correlated to operating time and prostatic weight, the intergroup difference was not significant. In the late postoperative period two aspirin-treated men had bleeding with tamponade of the urinary bladder requiring emptying in the operating room. As blood loss was not enhanced by aspirin use, avoidance of aspirin before TURP appears to be unnecessary.