Mediplacements - Cardiac surgery 'may be using too much blood'

Cardiac surgery 'may be using too much blood'

Tuesday 21st April 2009

Cardiac surgery may be using too much blood, new research has indicated.

Conducted by a team at the University of Bristol, the study found that routine transfusions given after cardiac procedures may not be necessary and may in fact caused more medical problems than they solve, the Times reports.

Most decisions to use transfusions after such procedures are made on the basis of patient's haemoglobin level.

Thanks to a £1 million grant from the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment, the Bristol team are to further examine if withholding blood transfusions until a patient reaches a lower haemoglobin threshold will improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital costs.

"Unnecessary blood transfusions increase healthcare costs both directly, because blood is an increasingly scarce and expensive resource, and indirectly due to complications associated with transfusion," stated study leader Gavin Murphy, a senior lecturer in cardiac surgery at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust.

Employing around 7,000 staff members, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust operates provides over 100 different clinical services across eight sites.

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