Impact of Platelet Count on Perioperative Bleeding in Patients With Cirrhosis Undergoing Surgical Treatments of Liver Cancer.

In patients with cirrhosis with severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count [PC] 100 × 109 /L), intermediate (51-100 × 109 /L), and low (≤50 × 109 /L). PC was also analyzed as a continuous covariate on multivariable analysis. The primary endpoint was major perioperative bleeding. The overall event rate of major perioperative bleeding was 8.9% and was not found to differ significantly between the high, intermediate, and low platelet groups (8.1% vs. 10.2% vs. 10.8%, P = 0.48). On multivariable analysis, greater age, aspartate aminotransferase, lower hemoglobin, and treatment with LR (vs. RFA) were found to be significant independent predictors of major perioperative bleeding, with associations with disease etiology and year of surgery also observed. After adjusting for these factors, the association between PC and major perioperative bleeding remained nonsignificant. Conclusion: Major perioperative bleeding was not significantly associated with PC in patients with cirrhosis undergoing surgical treatment of HCC, even when their PC was <50 × 109 /L. With the limit of a retrospective analysis, our data do not support the recommendation of increasing PC in patients with severe thrombocytopenia in order to decrease their perioperative bleeding risk.