title: An appraisal of blood salvage techniques in vascular and cardiac operations.
abstract: This study compares blood salvage and reinfusion with the use of homologous blood in three groups of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft replacement or other cardiac operation. In Group 1 (100 patients), homologous blood was used and no effort was made to salvage blood. In Group 2 (68 patients), blood was salvaged before and after bypass and mediastinal blood was salvaged for 24 hours postoperatively. In Group 3 (46 patients), blood was salvaged before and after bypass and postoperatively. The average patient in Groups 2 and 3 required approximately one-third the amount of whole blood and approximately one-fourth the amount of packed red blood cells (RBC) required by a Group 1 patient. The hospital stays, blood chemistry levels, and costs per patient were comparable for the three groups. RBC survival studies in Group 3 patients showed a mild decrease from normal values. This study shows that currently available equipment and techniques allow safe and practical blood salvage during cardiac and vascular operations.
mesh_terms: D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000191:economics; D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004905:Erythrocyte Aging; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures