Study showing Heart Patients Do Fine with Fewer Transfusions

[ottagal]

http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?docID=644250

I thought this was an interesting article to share as many of us have been on the receiving end of blood transfusions.

 

[NealR]

Interesting article.

Fortunate for me, I donated my own blood. two units of red, and two of platelets. The surgeon only ended up using the platelets.

I read somewhere, that by either avoiding blood transfusions, or going analogous, reduces the risk of a-fibs. I was lucky as I did not have this, but wondered if it was luck, or if there really is something more to this.

 

[daveguy14]

Very interesting. Mine got down to 22% and still no transfusion. I'm very young and otherwise healthy, and I was told my surgeon wasn't keen on transfusing unless absolutely necessary. I apparently had no color for a couple of weeks, though.

 

[Eva]

Thanks, Ottawagal, for sharing.

Interesting! Gladly I did not need any though my surgeon had two pints ready!

I know this research was about transfusion, but I wish these researchers also analyzed why "some hospital transfused almost no one, while other hospitals transfused nearly everyone."
It cannot be that all the patients, who had surgery at the hospitals that transfused nearly everyone, necessarily have needed it!! :confused2:
Quote:

Researchers analyzed data on more than 100,000 patients from nearly 800 U.S. hospitals who were getting coronary artery bypass graft surgery for the first time. They found some hospitals transfused almost no one, while other hospitals transfused nearly everyone.Unquote

 

[heartdoc]

Thank you for bringing this recent Brazilian article up. It was published earlier this month and I have included it in one of my Grand Rounds lectures on bloodless heart surgery. It stresses a very important point. Too many hospital use a "liberal" transfusion policy in heart surgery patients. This results in a huge number of unnecessary transfusions. I have been performing open heart surgery on Jehovah's witnesses for the last 12 years. As you might know, because of their religious beliefs they do not allow blood transfusions under any circumstances. My personal observation has been that with meticulous preparation and surgical techniques very few patients require blood transfusions (less than 15% of the cases )and these bloodless surgery techniques can be offered to every patient with excellent outcomes. It is definitely a topic to discuss with your doctor. I have more technical and clinical details on this topic at www.bigappleheartsurgery.com/page19.php

Heartdoc

www.bigappleheartsurgery.com