Blood conservation and management in cardiac surgery

Abstract

Cardiac surgical procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass necessitate systemic anticoagulation and exposure to the pro-inflammatory extracorporeal circuit. Surgical procedures already account for 50% of all allogeneic blood product administration. Cardiac surgical procedures are high-risk for bleeding and allogeneic transfusion. Transfusion rates in cardiac surgery vary widely, with rates of 40-90% of cardiac surgical patients will receive a transfusion; cardiac surgical procedures consist of 10-20% of total blood product administration in the United States [1-4].