Transfusion medicine
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Transfusion medicine · Dec 2021
Volume of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma is associated with intraoperative hypocalcaemia during large volume intraoperative transfusion.
Severe hypocalcaemia is associated with increased transfusion in the trauma population. Furthermore, trauma patients developing severe hypocalcaemia have higher mortality and coagulopathy. Electrolyte abnormalities associated with massive transfusion have been less studied in the surgical population. Here, we tested the primary hypothesis that volume of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma transfused intraoperatively is associated with lower nadir ionised calcium in the surgical population receiving massive resuscitation. ⋯ Hypocalcaemia was associated with increased transfusion volume in this single-centre study. Unlike the trauma population, hypocalcaemia was not associated with increased mortality during surgical care. Our findings suggest that despite improved practice patterns of calcium supplementation, intraoperative hypocalcaemia occurs with relatively high frequency following large volume intraoperative transfusion.