Changes in Serum Electrolytes in Blood Transfused and Non-Transfused Post-Operative Patients at a National Referral Hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Background: Red blood cell transfusion among patients is an essential part of medical care, and can be life-saving. This study therefore determined changes in serum electrolyte in blood transfused and non-transfused postoperative patients at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Ghana.
Methodology: This was a hospital-based longitudinal study involving 160 female patients aged 18- 70 years admitted to the KBTH and screened pre-operatively. In all 92 general surgical and gynaecological adult patients who met the inclusion criteria were studied post-post operatively. Data abstraction form was used for data collection on demographic, weight and serum electrolytes. Categorical data were analysed using chisquare. Independent t-test was used to compare the means for the two groups, while the paired t-test was
used to compare the means for the immediate postoperative and 24 hours post-operative period, using SPSS version 23.0 software.
Results: In the transfused patients, serum levels of sodium (p= 0.297), Chloride (p= 0.143), and calcium (p= 0.368) increased, while potassium (p= 0.383) and magnesium (p= 0.147) levels decreased after transfusion; although not statistically significant. However, there was a significant decrease in serum levels of sodium (p= 0.040), potassium (p= 0.001), and magnesium (p= 0.026) in non- ransfused patients 24 hours post operatively. Hypomagnesemia was observed among the transfused patients in this study (pretransfusion, 0.66±0.05 vs. post transfusion, 0.57±0.04, p= 0.147)
Conclusion: Blood transfusion corrected serum electrolyte levels in patients after surgery. Serum electrolytes monitoring is clinically useful in postoperative patients in this large referral hospital.