Postoperative Noninvasive Hemoglobin Monitoring Is Useful to Prevent Unnoticed Postoperative Anemia and Inappropriate Blood Transfusion in Patients Undergoing Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction Postoperative nadir hemoglobin (Hb) is related to a longer length of stay for geriatric patients undergoing orthopedic surgery. We investigated whether postoperative pulse Hb (SpHb) measurement is useful for avoiding anemia and inappropriate blood transfusion after total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty. Material and Methods This prospective randomized controlled study included 150 patients randomly assigned to receive blood transfusion, either guided by SpHb monitoring (SpHb group) or based on the surgeons’ experience (control group). The target laboratory Hb value was set to >8 g/dL at postoperative day 1 (POD1). The primary endpoints were the product of total time and degree of SpHb <8 g/dL (area under SpHb 8 g/dL) during the period up to POD1 and the incidence of laboratory Hb <8 g/dL at POD1. The secondary endpoints were the amount of blood transfusion and inappropriate blood transfusion, which was defined as allogeneic blood transfusion unnecessary in a case of SpHb >12 g/dL or delayed transfusion in a case of SpHb <8 g/dL. Results The area under SpHb 8 g/dL was 37.6 ± 44.1 g/dL-min (5 patients) in the control group and none in the SpHb group ( P = .0281). There was 1 patient with Hb <8 g/dL at POD1 in the control group. There was no difference in laboratory Hb levels and the amount of blood transfusion. Forty-one patients (19 in the control group and 22 in the SpHb group) received an allogeneic blood transfusion. Among these patients, 7 in the control group and none in the SpHb group received inappropriate blood transfusion ( P = .0022). Discussion The SpHb monitoring could reduce unnoticed anemia, which may prevent complications and be useful in avoiding unnecessary and excessive blood transfusion. Conclusion Postoperative SpHb monitoring decreased the incidence of transient, unnoticed anemia during the period up to POD1 and inappropriate blood transfusion.

Preoperative anaemia in surgical patients: Intravenous iron and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) to the rescue

Despite the propensity for allogeneic blood transfusion by clinicians, the space for this therapy is steadily being contracted by limited evidence of benefit from its use in most situations, adverse effects of its use, high cost, limited supply and rejection by some religious faithfuls. Available literature concedes to the high prevalence of preoperative anaemia in diverse surgical settings irrespective of geography and reflects the global burden of anaemia. Beyond the poorer surgical outcome directly attributed to preoperative anaemia, it has also been recognized as the major predictor of allogeneic blood transfusion with attendant morbidity and mortality. The concept of Patient Blood Management (PBM) seeks to minimize exposure of patients to allogeneic blood and is based on three pillars of maximizing total red cell mass, minimizing iatrogenic blood loss and harnessing patient’s physiological tolerance of anemia. Consequently, PBM places great premium on correcting preoperative anaemia in surgical patients. With the limited success of leucodepletion and other measures at addressing the complications of allogeneic blood transfusions new interest is expanding in PBM. Several of these have been evaluated and among them the use of newer formulations of intravenous iron with or without erythropoiesis– stimulating agents has been most studied and credited with substantial success and good safety profile. Insight is also offered on the oversubscribed misconception of iron overload in HbSS patients while elucidating on the basis for iron supplementation in proven cases of iron deficiency. Some prevailing barriers, however, threaten the full realization of the potentials of these therapies.

The Effects of Allogeneic Blood Transfusion in Hepatic Resection

Background Hepatectomy has a high risk of perioperative bleeding due to the underlying disease. Here, we investigated the postoperative impact of allogeneic blood transfusion during hepatectomy. Methods The surgical outcomes in 385 patients who underwent hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed. The association of allogeneic blood transfusion with surgical outcomes and remnant liver regeneration data was analyzed. Results Eighty-six patients (24.0%) received an allogeneic blood transfusion and 272 patients (76.0%) did not. After propensity score matching, the incidence rates of postoperative complication (Clavien-Dindo grade >IIIA), posthepatectomy liver failure, and massive ascites were significantly higher for the group that received a blood transfusion than for the group that did not receive blood transfusion ( P < .001, P = .001, and <.001, respectively). Postoperative measures of total bilirubin, albumin, platelet count, prothrombin time, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase were significantly more favorable in patients without blood transfusion until day 7 after surgery. There were no correlations in the remnant liver regeneration at 7 days, and 1, 2, 5, and 12 months postoperatively between the 2 groups ( P = .585, .383, .507, .261, and .430, respectively). Regarding prognosis, there was no significant difference in overall and recurrence-free survival between the 2 groups ( P = .065 and .166, respectively). Conclusion Allogeneic transfusion during hepatectomy strongly affected remnant liver function in the early postoperative period; however, this was not related to the remnant liver regeneration volume. Despite that the allogeneic transfusion resulted in poorer postoperative laboratory test results and increased postoperative complication and mortality rates, it had no effect on the long-term prognosis.