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Preoperative autologous blood donation by elderly patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery
G Gandini1, M Franchini, M de Gironcoli
1Servizio di Immunoematologia e Trasfusione Ospedale Policlinico, Via delle Menegone, 10-37134 Verona, Italy. giorgio.gandini@mail.azosp.vr.it
Background And Objectives:
To assess the feasibility of a programme of predeposit in elderly patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery.
Patients And Methods:
We retrospectively studied 789 elderly patient candidates (> 65 years of age) for orthopaedic surgery (total hip and knee replacement and spinal surgery), who were undergoing a programme of preoperative autologous blood donation (PABD) in our city hospital between January 1990 and December 1998.
Results:
Six hundred and eighty-eight patients (87.2%) were transfused with autologous blood; 128 (16.2%) also received allogeneic blood. Hip arthroplasty revision was characterized by the greatest blood consumption. The predeposit programme was discontinued in 96 patients (12.2%) because of the following complications: the onset of anaemia (11.0%); vasovagal reactions (0.5%); lack of venous access (0.4%); or cardiac complications (0.2%). No episodes of reaction to autologous transfusion were recorded.
Conclusions:
Our study confirms the feasibility of PABD in elderly patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery.