Coagulation disorder as a prognostic factor for patients with colorectal perforation

Abstract

Although sepsis after surgery for colorectal perforation frequently results in severe coagulation disorders and consequent death of the patient, the correlation between coagulation abnormalities and postoperative mortality of colorectal perforation has not been clarified. The medical records of 101 consecutive patients receiving surgery for colorectal perforations between January 1994 and July 2006 were retrospectively reviewed. The abnormalities of preoperative laboratory data reflecting coagulation disorders and other possible risk factors were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis. Prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time significantly correlated with a poor prognosis (both P < 0.001). Among the several risk factors analyzed, only the presence of coagulation disorders was an independent predictive factor of postoperative mortality. Prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time are useful prognostic factors for predicting the surgical outcome for patients with colorectal perforation.