Guidelines for Complications of Cancer Treatment Vol VIII Part B

hospitalization was prolonged by 2.6 days (approximately 20percent) in the hypothermia group (P = 0.01).Conclusions Hypothermia itself may delay healing andpredispose patients to wound infections. Maintainingnormothermia intraoperatively is likely to decrease theincidence of infectious complications in patients undergoingcolorectal resection and to shorten their hospitalizations.Management of Massive Blood TransfusionComplications of major blood loss and massive transfusionmay jeopardize the survival of patients from many specialties,and challenge haematological and blood transfusion resources.Avoidable deaths of patients with major haemorrhage are wellrecognized, and generally agreed that speciality-specificguidelines are needed to ensure effective management. Sinceacute massive blood transfusion is relatively rare but whenoccurs is a clinical emergency, management of such situationsdepend on understanding basic physiology andpathophysiology. The guidelines issued by various societiesare generally based on expert opinion and retrospectivereviews.Clinical Resource Efficiency Support Team (CREST),Northern Ireland Guidelines for the management of acutemassive blood lossDefinition:Massive blood loss may be defined as: Loss of one blood volume within a 24 hour period. (7%of lean body weight (5 litres in an adult) – 8 to 9% in achild. Loss of 50% of blood volume within 3 hours. Loss of blood at a rate in excess of 150 ml. per minute.51