Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · May 1992
A cluster of severe postoperative bleeding following open heart surgery.
To investigate a cluster of postoperative bleeding following open heart surgery. ⋯ We conclude that the use of large volumes of HES during surgery in the elderly open heart surgery patient may increase the risk for severe, nonsurgical postoperative bleeding, probably caused by alterations of the coagulation system. As the incidence of open heart surgery increases among the elderly, surgeons and anesthesiologists should be alert to possible adverse reactions from exposures not associated with adverse reactions in younger patients.