Determination of Need for Transfusion of Blood During and After Surgery in Adult Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery in Rajaie Heart Center

During and after cardiac surgery, bleeding occurs that resulting postoperative anemia. If patients have anemia before operation, the rate of blood transfusions increase that make several complications.

In this study, patients entered to the operating room prior to the anesthesia induction an arterial catheter was placed and hemoglobin and hematocrit level was detected.so anemia level is determined as: Hb less than 8 g/dl: Severe anemia; Hb between 8 to 10 g/dl: moderate anemia and Hb 10-12( for women) and 10-13 (for men):Mild anemia; and according to hematocrit, less than 45% for men and less 37% for women include anemia. The study also looked at the age, sex, and weight of patients and for the association of anemia with the above mentioned variables. Also, during surgery amount of blood transfusion to the patients was evaluated. The need for transfusion was evaluated according to Hb level.

In this study, 526 patients were studied in one year period. The mean hemoglobin level of patients was 13.1 g/dl and the mean hematocrit was 39.3%.In this study, 30.2% of patients were anemic. According to the anemia classification, 62.9% of anemic patients had Mild anemia, 36.4% moderate anemia and0.5% severe anemia. Of 526 patients,342(60.9%) did not need to receive packed red blood cells (PC).In this study, of 220 patients were received PC due to surgical bleeding. Of this group 114 patients have normal hemoglobin and 106 patient were anemic.

Patients with anemia needed to receive more blood, as well as female patients, older patients, patients with a lower BMI, patients with longer duration of operation, needed to receive more blood. According to the studies, blood transfusion is associated with side effects and increases the length of hospital stay and hospital costs. Therefore, performing diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic before elective surgery can reduce the need for transfusion and thereby reducing the complications that leads to redu