Intraoperative cell salvaging: ex vivo evaluation of two swab-washing methods

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To compare erythrocyte recovery by a cell salvage device between swab-washing by manual agitation or filtration. SAMPLE 12 recently expired units of canine packed RBCs. PROCEDURE The packed RBC units underwent quality analysis before donation from a pet blood bank. Each unit was volume-expanded with anticoagulant and subsequently divided into 2 equal aliquots used to soak surgical swabs before washing. Two different swab-washing techniques were evaluated—standard swab-washing–manual agitation (SW-MA) and swab-washing–filtration (SW-F)—with a novel prototype device. The resulting bloody fluid was processed using the Cell Saver Elite Autotransfusion System (Haemonetics). The volume, manual PCV, CBC, and RBC mass, calculated as the product of the volume and PCV, were measured before and after salvaging. Last, the RBC mass recovery was recorded as a percentage. RESULTS The RBC mass recovered from SW-MA and SW-F averaged 85.73% and 83.99%, respectively. There was no significant difference in RBC recovery between the 2 methods (P =.52). CLINICAL RELEVANCE SW-MA and SW-F recovered a similar quantity of RBCs from blood-soaked swabs in an ex vivo setting.