Vox sanguinis
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Platelet transfusions are widely administered to restore perioperative haemostasis in haemorrhagic patients; however, the role of platelet transfusion is not well understood and administration is often based on empiric data. This review aims to explore consensus regarding platelet transfusion trigger, dose and how the haemostatic efficacy of platelet transfusion was assessed for the treatment of perioperative bleeding. ⋯ The lack of consensus in published studies hinders our ability to draw conclusions regarding platelet transfusion and highlights the need for further studies to assess the appropriate dose and triggers for use in perioperative patients.
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Almost 150 years after the first autologous blood transfusion was reported, intraoperative blood salvage has become an important method of blood conservation. The primary goal of autologous transfusion is to reduce or avoid allogeneic red blood cell transfusion and the associated risks and costs. Autologous salvaged blood does not result in immunological challenge and its consequences, provides a higher quality red blood cell that has not been subjected to the adverse effects of blood storage, and can be more cost-effective than allogeneic blood when used for carefully selected surgical patients. ⋯ Further studies are needed to determine whether oncologic outcomes are impacted by transfusing salvaged blood during cancer surgery. In this new era of patient blood management, where multimodal methods of reducing dependence on allogeneic blood are becoming commonplace, autologous blood salvage remains a valuable tool for perioperative blood conservation. Future studies will be needed to best determine how and when cell salvage should be utilized along with newer blood conservation measures.
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Review Meta Analysis
Erythropoietin to reduce allogeneic red blood cell transfusion in patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty.
To determine the value of erythropoietin in reducing allogeneic transfusions, it is important to assess the effects, safety and costs for individual indications. Previous studies neither compared the effects of erythropoietin between total hip and total knee arthroplasty, nor evaluated the safety or costs. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the effects of erythropoietin in total hip and knee arthroplasty separately. Safety and costs were evaluated as secondary outcomes. ⋯ Erythropoietin is effective in both hip and knee arthroplasty and can be considered as safe. However, the decision to use erythropoietin on a routine base should be balanced against its costs, which may be relatively high.
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There is increasing interest in the use of liquid or frozen plasma thawed and stored for extended periods (>24 h) to reduce wastage and to improve rapid availability of plasma in massive transfusion protocols advocating the early use of plasma in trauma by some centres. There is now a body of studies that have assessed individual coagulation factors during storage of thawed plasma. These show that factor VIII (FVIII) is the worst affected factor and that its activity is mainly lost during the first 24 h following thawing. ⋯ The few studies that have assessed thrombin generation in thawed plasma have shown variable results. Extended storage of plasma is associated with an increase in levels of DEHP in the component and could theoretically increase the risk of bacterial contamination, although the latter does not appear to have been an issue in countries that have adopted the use of thawed plasma. There are no clinical studies relating to the efficacy of extended-thawed plasma, and therefore, the potential reduction in its efficacy must be balanced with the clinical need for the component.
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Blood banking underpins modern medical care, but blood storage, necessary for testing and inventory management, reduces the safety and efficacy of individual units of red blood cells (RBCs). Stored RBCs are damaged by the accumulation of their own waste products, by enzymatic and oxidative injury, and by metabolically programmed cell death. These chemical activities lead to a complex RBC storage lesion that includes haemolysis, reduced in vivo recovery, energy and membrane loss, altered oxygen release, reduced adenosine tri-phosphate and nitric oxide secretion, and shedding of toxic products. ⋯ Generally, the quality of stored RBCs is highly related to the conditions of storage, so refrigerator temperature, intact bags, residual leucocyte counts and visible haemolysis remain excellent general measures. Specific biochemical measures, such as adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) concentrations, calcium and potassium content or lipid breakdown products, require specialized measures that are not widely available, involve destructive testing and generally reflect only a part of the storage lesion. This review describes a number of components of the storage lesion and their measurement and attempts to access the utility of the measures.