[Retransfusion of unwashed drainage blood after total hip and knee arthroplasty]

The method of retransfusion of drainage blood as known from the literature was investigated in a prospectiv study regarding effectivness and rate of side effects. 200 patients who underwent total hip and knee arthroplasty were investigated concerning hemoglobin, hematocrit, amount and quality of the retransfused drainage blood, the amount of autologous and homologous transfusions as well as complications and costs. 100 of these patients were selected as the control group. The amount of the retransfused drainage blood after hip arthroplasty amounted an average of 387 +/- 194 ml and after knee arthroplasty 595 +/- 250 ml. The retransfused blood had an average hemoglobin of 5,2 +/- 0,9mmol/l with a hematocrit of 0,24 0,05. No complications directly associated to the retransfusion were found. The need of transfusion was reduced for patients with knee arthroplasty about 30% and for hip arthroplasty about 25%. The retransfusion of unwashed drainage blood is a sufficient method to reduce perioperative homologous blood transfusion in patients with arthroplasty of hip and knee. Substantial complications were not observed, so that this method seems to be save enough for clinical usage. The method is easy to handle and usable without special technical devices. The autologous retransfusion of drainage blood can contribute to lower costs in patients treatement.