Necessity of preoperative activated partial thromboplastin time test as a predictor for surgical hemorrhage in obstetric and gynecological patients in China

Background: On an international scale, the necessity of preoperative coagulation screen remains controversial, yet in China, coagulation screen is still a routine test before surgery required by the Ministry of Health of China. Methods: A retrospective review of 26,807 patients > 18 y presenting with problems related to the areas of gynecology and obstetrics from March 2013 to July 2015 was performed, and the rate of major bleeding and the amount of blood lost during surgery were compared among groups of patients grouped according to the values of preoperative APTT, the departments the patients belonged to, or the measures for intervention. Results: Groups with increased APTT had higher rates of major bleeding (9.80% & 26.14% vs 2.77%, P < 0.001) and more blood loss (862.9 and 1455.6 ml vs 194.0 ml, P < 0.001). And the same conclusion could be induced in both the obstetric and gynecological patients when they were taken into account separately. For obstetric patients, once those with high bleeding risks, e.g., placental abruption, placental implantation, or preoperative massive hemorrhage were excluded, groups with increased APTT would no longer demonstrated the higher rate of major bleeding (0.91% & 2.38% vs 0%, P = 0.409 & 0.833) and would even have a lower amount of blood loss (202.76 and 228.09 ml vs 322.13 ml, P = 0.003 and 0.027). In increased APTT patients without bleeding or bleeding tendency, FFP intervention would not make a difference in the rate of major bleeding (7.69% vs 8.37%, P = 0.203) and the amount of blood loss (271.35 ml vs 306.63, P = 0.865). Conclusion: For Chinese patients from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Departments, APTT is a good screen test to predict surgical hemorrhage.