Effectiveness of a cardiac surgery-specific transfusion protocol

Encouraging results of blood conservation in neonatal open-heart surgery

OBJECTIVE

To report early outcomes of blood conservation in neonatal open-heart surgery.

METHODS

Ninety-nine patients undergoing neonatal open-heart surgery during the implementation of a blood conservation program between May 2021 and February 2023 were reviewed. Patients either received traditional blood management (blood prime, n = 43) or received blood conservation strategies (clear prime, n = 56). Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared between groups.

RESULTS

There was no difference in body weight (median, 3.2 kg vs 3.3 kg; P = .83), age at surgery (median, 5 days vs 5 days; P = .37), distribution of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Congenital Heart Surgery Mortality Categories categories or duration of cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients in the clear prime group had higher preoperative hematocrit (median, 41% vs 38%; P < .01), shorter postoperative mechanical ventilation time (median, 48 hours vs 92 hours; P = .02) and postoperative intensive care unit length of stay (median, 6 days vs 9 days; P < .01) than patients in the blood prime group. Fourteen patients (25%) in the clear prime group, including 1 Norwood patient, were discharged without any transfusion. Among patients within the clear prime group, hospitalizations without blood exposure were associated with higher preoperative hematocrit (median, 43% vs 40%; P = .02), shorter postoperative mechanical ventilation times (median, 22 hours vs 66 hours; P = .01) and shorter postoperative hospital stays (median, 10 days vs 15 days; P = .02).

CONCLUSIONS

Bloodless surgery is possible in a significant proportion of neonates undergoing open-heart surgery, including the Norwood operation, even in the early stages of experience. Early clinical results are favorable but long-term follow-up and continued efforts are warranted to prove safety and reproducibility.

The effect of non-point-of-care haemostasis management protocol implementation in cardiac surgery: A systematic review

Objectives

This systematic review aims to outline the evidence on the implementation of a non‐point‐of‐care (non‐point‐of‐care [POC]) haemostasis management protocol compared to experience‐based practice in adult cardiac surgery.

Background

Management of coagulopathy in cardiac surgery is complex and remains highly variable among centres and physicians. Although various guidelines recommend the implementation of a transfusion protocol, the literature on this topic has never been systematically reviewed.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched from January 2000 till May 2020.

Results

A total of seven studies (one randomised controlled trial [RCT], one prospective cohort study, and five retrospective studies) met the inclusion criteria. Among the six non‐randomised, controlled studies, the risk of bias was determined to be serious to critical, and the one RCT was determined to have a high risk of bias. Five studies showed a significant reduction in red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and/or platelet transfusion after the implementation of a structural non‐POC algorithm, ranging from 2% to 28%, 2% to 19.5%, and 7% to17%, respectively. One study found that fewer patients required transfusion of any blood component in the protocol group. Another study had reported a significantly increased transfusion rate of platelet concentrate in the haemostasis algorithm group.

Conclusion

Owing to the high heterogeneity and a substantial risk of bias of the included studies, no conclusion can be drawn on the additive value of the implementation of a cardiac‐surgery‐specific non‐POC transfusion and haemostasis management algorithm compared to experience‐based practice. To define the exact impact of a transfusion protocol on blood product transfusion, bleeding, and adverse events, well‐designed prospective clinical trials are required.

Outcomes from cardiac surgery in Jehovah's witness patients: experience over twenty-one years

BACKGROUND

Cardiac surgery in Jehovah's Witnesses may be challenging during the operation and postoperative period given their refusal of blood products. The aim of this study was to document our center's experience with Jehovah's Witnesses undergoing major cardiac surgery and to compare surgical outcomes with a matched control group.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the demographic, perioperative, and in-hospital postoperative data for 31 Jehovah's Witness patients undergoing surgery from 1991 to 2012 and compared findings with a control group of 62 patients of the same sex and age, who underwent the same type of operations in the same period. Early mortality, major in-hospital morbidity, laboratory findings, and hospital stays were compared between groups.

RESULTS

Demographic data were similar between groups, except that more patients in the Jehovah's Witness group had extracardiac arteriopathy compared with controls (p = 0.04). There was no difference in predicted mortality, calculated by the Euroscore II, between groups (2.8 ± 3.3 in study group versus 2.4 ± 2.2 in control group, p = 0.469). For postoperative outcomes, there were no differences between Jehovah's Witnesses versus controls in hospital mortality (3 % versus 2 %, p = 0.548), total drain loss (847 ± 583 mL versus 812 ± 365 mL, p = 0.721), mechanical ventilation time (1.26 ± 2.24 versus 0.89 ± 0.55 days, p = 0.218), intensive care unit stay (4.3 ± 3.9 versus 3 ± 1.4 days, p = 0.080), and hospital stay (12.9 ± 7.6 versus 10.9 ± 6.6 days, p = 0.223).

CONCLUSIONS

Outcomes after cardiac surgery are similar between Jehovah's Witnesses and general population, in centers applying rigorous blood patient management protocols.