J Cardiovasc Surg
-
We investigated the effect of intraoperative autologous blood sequestration (IABS), an old blood conservation method, on transfusion requirements for homologous packed red blood cells (PRBC), platelets, and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) for patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery. This non-randomized retrospective study involved 204 patients who underwent isolated primary coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). In 140 patients (IABS Group), autologous heparinized whole blood was removed intraoperatively via aortic cannula before bypass and retransfused at the conclusion of extracorporeal circulation. ⋯ In the No IABS Group, 1.31 units of FFP was transfused and in the IABS Group, 0.49 units was transfused (p = 0.0004). To identify possible confounding factors, we performed a multivariate Poisson regression analysis for the 22 patient variables by a forward stepwise procedure. Regression analysis indicated that IABS did not alter the need for PRBC transfusion (p = 0.6194) but adjusted differences did confirm that IABS was associated with decreased need for transfusion of platelets and FFP (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0002, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
-
It is thought there is an increased incidence of incisional herniation after the repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. We sought to assess this premise by reviewing 281 patients who had undergone abdominal aortic aneurysm repair over the preceding eight years at Concord Hospital. Incisional hernias were found in fourteen patients. ⋯ Six of the fourteen patients with a hernia had needed an urgent repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. We conclude from this study, that there is no evidence of an increased incidence of incisional hernias associated with aneurysmal disease itself. Rather, the factors causing such hernias are common to all laparotomies for major disease in sick, elderly patients, in the absence of intra-abdominal sepsis.
-
The Swan-Ganz catheter complications are infrequent, the most typical one being cardiac arrhythmias. The breaking and embolization of a catheter fragment into the pulmonary vascular system are exceptional and, in any case, benign. We present a patient with severe pulmonary hypertension to the embolization of a Swan-Ganz catheter fragment into the right pulmonary artery which disappeared with the movements of the fragment to the lung periphery.