• Mandy Langstraat, Carla M Megens-Bastiaanse, RettigThijs C DTCDDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Amphia Hospital, Breda, the Netherlands., Thierry V Scohy, and Bas M Gerritse.
• Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Amphia Hospital, Breda, the Netherlands.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2023 Sep 1; 37 (9): 160116051601-1605.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to describe the outcome of Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) undergoing cardiac surgery at the authors' center.DesignA single-center retrospective cohort study.SettingAt a cardiovascular center with a tertiary intensive care unit (ICU) and specific experience with cardiac surgery in JWs. The institutional protocol describing all perioperative care in JWs has been applied for 21 years.ParticipantsAll JWs undergoing cardiac surgery in the Amphia Hospital from January 1, 2001 to January 31, 2022.InterventionsNone.Measurements And Main ResultsThe study cohort comprised 329 JWs undergoing cardiac surgery. Twenty-three patients (6.8%) were treated preoperatively for anemia. The mean European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation score was 5.1 (range 0-18). Coronary artery bypass grafting (53.2%) was performed most frequently, followed by aortic valve replacement (13.4%). Mean preoperative hemoglobin levels were 14.5 g/dL (range 9.8-18.5 g/dL), dropping to 11.6 g/dL (range 6.6-15.6 g/dL) at hospital discharge. Mean blood loss was 439 ± 349 mL in the first 12 hours postsurgery. Maximum mean postoperative troponin levels were 431 ± 424 ng/L. Resternotomy and postoperative myocardial infarction occurred in 3.6% and 4.2% of patients, respectively. On average, patients had an ICU stay of 1.4 ± 1.8 days and a hospital stay of 6.8 ± 4.2 days. Hospital mortality was 0.6% and was related to cardiac failure.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that cardiac surgery in JWs is safe when adhering to a strict perioperative patient blood management protocol.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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