Preoperative anemia and complications after surgery for pelvic organ prolapse: an analysis of the national surgical quality improvement program database

Abstract

Objectives Preoperative anemia is a well-established risk factor for adverse postoperative outcomes in major surgery, but studies regarding outcomes after pelvic reconstructive surgery are limited. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of preoperative anemia on 30-day outcomes in patients undergoing pelvic organ prolapse surgery. Methods We analyzed data for patients undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse from the National Surgery Quality Improvement Program database. The primary outcome of interest was a composite of potentially serious post-operative medical complications. Secondary outcomes included surgical site infection, bleeding requiring blood transfusion, readmission within 7 days of surgery and return to the operating room within 30 days. Multivariable logistic regression was used to adjust for important pre-specified potential confounders including age, race, year of surgery, concurrent hysterectomy, concurrent incontinence procedure, surgical approach, diabetes, hypertension and smoking status. Results 50 848 women were included in the analysis and 9.9% (4579)women met the criteria for anemia (hematocrit Conclusions Preoperative anemia is associated with increased risk of adverse postoperative outcome in women having surgery for pelvic organ prolapse.