Less Transfusion, Less Infections —Controversies in Patient Blood Management

Patient blood management (PBM) should be regarded as a standard of care in modern perioperative management.1,2 Its beneficial effect on outcome has been shown in patients undergoing cardiac3 and non-cardiac surgery.4 The concept of PBM consists of a multifactorial sequence of separate blood conservation strategies and interventions.5,6 The use of intraoperative cell salvage and retransfusion of washed autologous blood as integral parts of PBM in cardiac surgery were recently recommended in the PBM guidelines issued by the European Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiology.

Source: Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia - March 29, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Daniel Bolliger, Jens Fassl Tags: Editorial Source Type: research