Effect of Aspirin Continuation on Blood Loss and Postoperative Morbidity in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy or Colorectal Cancer Resection

No consensus exists whether to continue or withdraw aspirin therapy perioperatively in patients undergoing major laparoscopic abdominal surgery. To investigate whether preoperative continuation of aspirin therapy increases blood loss and associated morbidity during laparoscopic cholecystectomy and colorectal cancer resection, we compared duration of surgical procedures, amount of intraoperative blood loss, rate of blood transfusion, length of postoperative stay, rate of conversion to open surgery, and reoperation within 48 hours between patients with and without aspirin therapy preoperatively. Twenty-nine of 270 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy and 23 of 218 patients who underwent laparoscopic colorectal cancer resection, respectively, were on aspirin therapy. We found no significant difference in the investigated outcome between groups with the exception of longer surgical duration of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in aspirin-treated patients. Although underpowered, above findings may suggest that aspirin continuation is unlikely to increase blood loss or postoperative morbidity in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy or colorectal cancer resection.