title: Differences in post-operative infection rates between patients receiving autologous and allogeneic blood transfusion: a meta-analysis of published randomized and nonrandomized studies.
abstract: We have undertaken a meta-analysis of the post-operative infection rates in patients who received autologous blood compared with allogeneic blood. Nine studies published after 1989 were identified, of which seven had sufficient data on transfusion given in the paper to be included, giving a total of 1060 patients. The risk of post-operative infection was greater in the allogeneic group, odds ratio 2.37 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-3.6, P < 0.0001) compared with the autologous group. Allogeneic and autologous blood transfusion should be compared in a large multicentre randomized control trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Neal
mesh_terms: D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000379:methods; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous