Rapid thrombelastography predicts perioperative massive blood transfusion in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: A retrospective study

Abstract

Massive blood transfusion (MBT) is a relatively common complication of cardiac surgery, which is independently associated with severe postoperative adverse events. However, the value of using rapid thrombotomography (r-TEG) to predict MBT in perioperative period of cardiac surgery has not been explored. This study aimed to identify the effect of r-TEG in predicting MBT for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).This retrospective study included consecutive patients first time undergoing CABG at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University between March 2015 and November 2017. All the patients had done r-TEG tests before surgery. The MBT was defined as receiving at least 4 units of red blood cells intra-operatively and 5 units postoperatively (1 unit red blood cells from 200mL whole blood).Lower preoperative hemoglobin level (P=.001) and longer cardiopulmonary bypass time (P=.001) were the independent risk factors for MBT during surgery, and no components of the r-TEG predicted MBT during surgery. Meanwhile, longer activated clotting time (P