Does Progesterone Affect Perioperative Blood Loss during Posterior Spinal Fusion Surgeries in Female Patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis? A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE: Menstruation is considered a contraindication for elective surgery for higher operative blood loss. Progesterone is often used to postpone menstruation to avoid surgery during menstruation. This study aimed to explore whether using progesterone to postpone menstruation affects perioperative blood loss and complications in female patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) who underwent posterior spinal fusion (PSF) surgery. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed for female patients diagnosed with AIS who underwent PSF surgery between March 2013 and January 2021. Patients scheduled to undergo PSF surgery from 2 days before menstruation to 3 days after menstruation were treated with progesterone preoperatively. The patients were divided into two groups according to progesterone use (progesterone injection group; control group). Demographic and surgical data including intraoperative blood loss (IBL), normalized blood loss (NBL), total blood loss (TBL), transfusion rate, perioperative complications, postoperative drainage time, postoperative hospital stay, and preoperative coagulation function data were collected. RESULTS: A total of 206 patients were included in the study. Among them, the progesterone injection group included 41 patients, with an average age of 14.8 years. While the control group included 165 patients, with an average age of 14.9 years. The two groups were matched for age, height, weight, operation time, Risser sign, correction rate, mean curve Cobb angle, bending Cobb angle, number of internal fixations, and number of fused levels (all P > 0.05). Regarding coagulation function, no significant differences were found in thrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, prothrombin time, and platelet count between the two groups (all P > 0.05). IBL, NBL, and TBL were higher in progesterone injection group; however, the difference was nonsignificant (all P > 0.05). Transfusion rate, perioperative complications, postoperative drainage time, and postoperative hospital stay were not statistically different between groups (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Intramuscular injection of progesterone to avoid menstruation during PSF surgery did not affect perioperative blood loss and complications in AIS patients. It may be a safe method for AIS patients to avoid menstrual problems affecting the operation time and receive PSF surgery as scheduled.