Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
-
J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Jun 2016
Endocarditis is not an Independent Predictor of Blood Transfusion in Aortic Valve Replacement Patients With Severe Aortic Regurgitation.
This study sought to evaluate if the presence of endocarditis was independently associated with increased perioperative blood transfusion in patients undergoing aortic valve replacements (AVR) with aortic regurgitation. ⋯ In patients undergoing AVR, unadjusted perioperative transfusion rates were higher when endocarditis was present. However, after adjustment, aortic valve endocarditis was not independently associated with blood transfusion. The authors' observation could be explained by the higher prevalence of many independent predictors of transfusion, such as comorbidities or more complex surgery, within the endocarditis group. Thus, AV endocarditis, in the absence of other risk factors, was not associated with increased perioperative transfusion risk.