Minimizing allogeneic blood transfusion in knee prosthesis implantation

The goal of blood management in orthopedic and trauma surgery is to minimize exposure to allogenic blood transfusion in elective surgical procedures. Pre-, intra- and postoperative techniques are available. In a retrospective study at our department we could show, that postoperative reinfusion in primary knee arthroplasty is an effective way to avoid allogenic blood transfusion. We evaluated two groups of totally 40 patients. Group I (20 patients) underwent collection of postoperative drainage blood and reinfusion (blood conservation system, CBC II ConstaVac, Stryker^® instruments), group II (20 patients) was treated without postoperative reinfusion. Group II required per patient 1,3 units of allogenic blood (totally 26 units), group I needed only 0,25 units of allogenic blood per patient (totally 5 units) by using the same guidelines for transfusion in both groups. There were similar preoperative and postoperativ hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in both groups. We recommend the use of postoperative reinfusion in addition with other blood saving techniques to reduce allogenic blood transfusion in primary knee arthroplasty.