Safety and efficacy of blood donation prior to elective cardiac surgery in anemic patients.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the safety and effectiveness of blood donation in anemic patients, we harvested blood from cardiac patients with baseline hemoglobin levels below 11.0 g/dl.


METHODS
Subjects were 118 patients who underwent elective cardiac surgery between January 1994 and October 1997. We assigned patients to 1 of 2 groups based on their entry hemoglobin level: an anemic group (hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dl, n = 20) and a nonanemic group (hemoglobin > or = 11.0 g/dl, n = 98). All patients received subcutaneous administration of recombinant human erythropoietin, and autologous blood was collected once a week for at least 3 weeks before the scheduled surgery date if the hemoglobin level exceeded 10.5 g/dl.


RESULTS
No statistically significant differences were seen between the 2 groups in patient profiles or surgical data. The estimated hemoglobin increase did not differ significantly between groups at any time point. The total collected blood volume per patient was greater in the nonanemic group than in the anemic group (1098 +/- 224 ml vs. 712 +/- 334 ml), but the difference in volume was not statistically significant. The percentage of patients who received allogeneic blood did not differ significantly between groups. No side effects were associated with hemoglobin level prior to donation because the incidence of side effects was similar across hemoglobin levels.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that autologous blood donation reduces the need for allogeneic blood in patients with baseline hemoglobin levels below 11.0 g/dl.
Kiyama
H
H
Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Dokkyo University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama, Japan.
Ohshima
N
N
Imazeki
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications*; D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin