The impact of preoperative anticoagulant administration on postoperative coagulation function and blood loss following posterior lumbar interbody fusion: a case–control study

Background Currently, there are few reports on the impact of preoperative anticoagulant administration on perioperative coagulation function and blood loss. Therefore, this study observed the effects of preoperative anticoagulant administration on postoperative coagulation function and blood loss in posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 61 patients who underwent PLIF from October 2021 to March 2023. Patients who used anticoagulants low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) or indobufen preoperatively were recorded as the observation group ( n = 29), and those who did not were recorded as the control group ( n = 32). The observation group was further divided into two subgroups based on the type of anticoagulant, namely the LMWH group ( n = 11) and the indobufen group ( n = 18). The observation indicators included surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, number of blood transfusions, incision healing, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower limbs, postoperative activated partial thrombin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen (FIB), platelet (PLT), postoperative hospital stay, and hemoglobin (HB), red blood cells (RBC), and hematocrit (HCT) on the postoperative 1st, 4th, 7th, and last-tested days. Results All surgeries completed successfully with incisions healed in grade A, without DVT occurred. There were no significant differences in surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, number of blood transfusions, and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups ( p 0.05). There were no significant differences in postoperative TT, FIB, APTT, and PLT between the two groups ( p 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in postoperative PT between the two groups ( p 0.05). There were no significant differences in the above-mentioned indicators between the two subgroups ( p 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the surgical segment was an independent influencing factor for intraoperative blood loss ( p 0.05). There were no significant differences in HB, RBC, and HCT between the two groups on the postoperative 1st, 4th, 7th, and last-tested days ( p 0.05). Conclusion The use of anticoagulants before PLIF has no significant effect on postoperative TT, FIB, APTT, and PLT (except for PT), and does not significantly affect blood loss.