Association Between Preoperative Blood Transfusion and Postoperative Pulmonary Embolism

Approximately 0.85% of patients requiring non-elective surgery in the U.S. receive preoperative transfusion of packed red blood cells (PRBCs). In addition, approximately 0.32% of patients requiring non-elective surgery are subsequently found to have a Pulmonary Embolism (PE), an outcome with an untreated mortality greater than 30%. We investigated the association between preoperative PRBC transfusion and postoperative PE.
Source: Journal of the American College of Surgeons - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: General Surgery Source Type: research