Optimal use of antiplatelet agents, especially aspirin, in the perioperative management of colorectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal resection

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic abdominal surgery is considered superior to open surgery. However, efficacy and safety outcomes of laparoscopic surgery in colorectal cancer (CRC) are unclear, particularly in patients undergoing antiplatelet therapy (APT). The aim of this study was to evaluate safety of antiplatelet agents, especially aspirin, in peri-operative management of patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal resection for CRC. METHODS: A total of 578 radical laparoscopic colorectal surgeries in CRC patients performed between January 2005 and December 2015 at the Kokura Memorial Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into three groups based on the risk for thromboembolism: a high-risk group receiving APT (APT-HR), a low-risk group receiving APT (APT-LR), and a low-risk group not receiving APT (non-APT). Bleeding complications (BC) and thromboembolic complications (TC) were assessed. Perioperative and outcome variables in groups receiving APT were compared with those in the non-APT group. RESULTS: APT-HR, APT-LR, and non-APT groups included 54 (9.3%), 114 (19.7%), and 410 (70.9%) patients, respectively. Blood loss during operation (p = 0.304), operative time (p = 0.956), hospitalisation after surgery (p = 0.307), and Clavien–Dindo classification of surgery-related complications (p = 0.467) were not significantly different in the three groups. Occurrence of intra-operative BC (blood loss ≥ 200 ml) (p = 0.864), post-operative BC (p = 0.630), and TC (p = 0.287) were also not significantly different in the three groups. Results of our analysis indicated that APT and non-interrupted APT were not associated with BC or TC. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of laparoscopic colorectal resection in CRC showed that APT was not a major factor for fatal BC or TC. In patients with high thromboembolic risk, continuing aspirin may inhibit the increase in TC without increasing BC in the peri-operative period.