Institutional variability in red blood cell conservation practices for coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Objective:To assess whether substantial institutional variability exists in red blood cell conservation practices associated with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Design: Prospective, randomized patient enrollment and data collection. Setting: Twenty-four U.S. academic institutions participating in the Multicenter Study of Perioperative Ischemia. Participants: A well-defined subset of primary CABG surgery patients (n = 713) expected to be at low risk for bleeding and exposure to allogeneic transfusion. Interventions: None (observational study). Measurements and Main Results: Frequency of use of red blood cell conservation techniques was determined among institutions. Correlation was determined between use of each technique and transfusion of allogeneic red blood cells and between use of each technique and median institutional blood loss. Significant variability (p < 0.01) was detected in institutional transfusion practice with respect to the use of predonated autologous whole blood, normovolemic hemodilution, red cell salvage, and reinfusion of shed mediastinal blood. The frequency of institutional use of these techniques was not associated with allogeneic transfusion (r(2) < 0.15) or blood loss (r(2) < 0.10) in the low-risk population of patients examined. Conclusions: Institutions vary significantly in perioperative blood conservation practices for CABG surgery. Further study to determine the appropriate use of these techniques is warranted. Copyright (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.