J Cardiothorac Surg
-
J Cardiothorac Surg · May 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialPositive impact of retrograde autologous priming in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a randomized clinical trial.
Adult cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation is known to be associated with increased risk of blood transfusion leading to adverse outcomes. Procedures like retrograde autologous priming (RAP) may reduce these negative side effects. This randomized prospective study was initiated to assess whether RAP using specifically designed RAP bag (Terumo) has immediate effects on patient outcome. ⋯ Retrograde autologous priming is a safe and less invasive procedure which achieves clear benefits for adult cardiac surgery patients. In the light of increasing red blood cell transfusion risks and costs and the wish of patients to avoid a transfusion implementation of retrograde autologous priming is an interesting option.