Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of intraoperative autotransfusion with hemodilution (AHT) to reduce postoperative transfusion of blood or blood products (BT) after cardiac surgery reoperation.
Design: Retrospective study, follow-up control.
Setting: Italian Institution of Cardiac Surgery (IICC).
Patients: 169 patients (51 males, 118 females; mean age 49.5 years) undergoing a reoperation from May 1982 to December 1991.
Interventions: 143 patients single valve replacement, 16 patients double valve replacement and 10 patients radical correction for tetralogy of Fallot. AHT (mean 620.2 +/- 226.9 ml) was performed in all patients. The shed blood was reinfused at the end of the surgery. PT, PTT, TT, TT Coagulase, FDP, pre- and postoperative platelet count, bleeding and needs for BT were recorded.
Results: Preoperatively: PT 71.3 +/- 8.1, PTT (sec.) 36.9 +/- 3.5, TT (sec.) 16.2 +/- 2.3, TTC (sec.) 16.9 +/- 1.7, FDP (ng% ml) 3.8 +/- 2.7, Platelet count (No./mu 11 170 +/- 58. Postoperatively: PT 36.5 +/- 6.5, PTT(sec.) 49.5 +/- 8.7, TT(sec.) 19.1 +/- 1.8, TTC(sec.) 18.9 +/- 2.1, FDP (ng% ml) 13.5 +/- 8.9, Platelet count (No./mu 11) 85 +/- 34. We had one reentry because of bleeding. The mean units of blood or blood products need after surgery were 2.2 +/- 1.02. Bleeding from the drainage was 105.2 +/- 103.8. Two patients died in the postoperative period because of low output syndrome. In a period of one year of F.U. we had only one patient with hepatitis B.
Conclusions: These data suggest that AHT is a safe method, reduces needs for banked blood or blood products, risks of infectious disease transmission and of immunologic reactions and presents hemorheologic benefits because of the diminished blood viscosity.