Therapeutic Advances in Urology (Jan 2019)

Should aspirin be suspended prior to robot-assisted radical prostatectomy? A systematic review and meta-analysis

  • Arie Carneiro,
  • Jonathan Doyun Cha,
  • Willy Baccaglini,
  • Fatima Z. Husain,
  • Marcelo Langer Wroclawski,
  • Igor Nunes-Silva,
  • Rafael Sanchez-Salas,
  • Alexandre Ingels,
  • Paulo Priante Kayano,
  • Oliver Rojas Claros,
  • Natasha Kouvaleski Saviano Moran,
  • René Sotelo,
  • Gustavo Caserta Lemos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1756287218816595
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Background: Low-dose aspirin use has been correlated with an increased risk of bleeding and overall complications in surgical and invasive diagnostic procedures. In this review, our aim was to analyze the current literature on whether robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is feasible and safe in patients taking low-dose aspirin perioperatively. Methods: A systematic review was performed identifying a total of 767 studies, published between January 2000 and September 2017, with five of these studies meeting the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis, totalizing 1481 patients underwent RARP. Patients were divided into two groups: taking aspirin (group A) and those not taking aspirin (group B) perioperatively. Results: There were no significant differences between groups in the overall [group A 10.7% versus group B 15.7%, risk ratio (RR) 0.83; p = 0.45; I 2 = 0%] or major complication rates (group A 1% versus group B 3%, RR 0.98; p = 0.98; I ² = 0%), rate of cardiovascular events (group A 1.4% and group B 0.5%, RR 2.06; p = 0.24; I 2 = 9%), blood loss (group A 278 ml versus group B 307 ml, SMD −0.12; p = 0.91; I 2 = 96%), or hospital length of stay [group A 4 days (3–5) and group B 4 days (3–4), SMD −0.09; p = 0.52; I ² = 0%]. There was a slightly higher blood-transfusion rate in group A (2.6%) versus group B (1.6%) (RR, 5.05; p = 0.04; I 2 = 0%). Conclusion: Continued aspirin use in the perioperative period does not correlate with an increase in surgical morbidity, blood loss, or hospital length of stay. There was a slightly higher blood-transfusion rate in patients taking low-dose aspirin (group A) perioperatively.