605 Group and Save Sampling in Total Knee and Hip Arthroplasty: Is It Necessary?

Aim To induce a change in practice with regard to pre-op G&S sampling. This is common practice in elective orthopaedics. Transfusion rates are negligible. Therefore, omitting this practice can reduce the financial burden on the Trust. Method Patient's undergoing elective primary total knee or hip arthroplasty over a 1-year period were retrieved from a database. Data regarding pre/post-op haemoglobin levels and transfusion status was obtained from patient case notes and Trust ICE pathology reporting system. Results There were a total of 454 patient's (251 undergoing TKR, 203 undergoing THR). Four patient's (1.6%) in the TKR group and 11 patient's (5.4%) in the THR group required transfusion. Of these patient's, 5 had cardiac problems and 6 had pre-operative anaemia. Conclusions Routine G&S sampling is unnecessary in the majority of cases and should only be reserved for certain cases (patient's with significant cardiac problems and those with a transfusion history). Patient's with pre-operative anaemia should have optimisation of haemoglobin level prior to the procedure.