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Bacteriologic quality of intraoperative autotransfusion
H Ezzedine1, P Baele, A Robert
1Department of Microbiology, Catholic University of Louvain, Saint-Luc Hospital, Brussels, Belgium.
Surgery
|March 1, 1991
Summary
Intraoperative blood salvage rarely shows bacterial contamination, and when present, it poses minimal septic risk in cardiac surgery patients. Monitoring can help detect surgical site contamination.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Transfusion Medicine
Background:
- Intraoperative blood salvage is widely used, but concerns persist regarding its bacteriologic safety.
- Assessing the microbial contamination of salvaged blood is crucial for patient safety.
Observation:
- A prospective study cultured intraoperative salvaged blood from 401 patients using direct plating.
- Bacterial growth was detected in 12.7% of samples, primarily coagulase-negative staphylococci.
- Positive cultures typically showed low colony-forming units (CFU/ml).
Findings:
- No statistically significant correlation was found between salvaged blood bacterial results and patient infectious complications.
- The study compared results with controls, including sterile water and blood bank units.
- Septic risk associated with intraoperative autotransfusion in cardiac surgery was found to be minimal.
Implications:
- Bacteriologic monitoring of autotransfused blood may aid in identifying surgical field contamination.
- Intraoperative autotransfusion is confirmed as a low-risk procedure concerning sepsis in cardiac surgery.
- Findings support the continued use of intraoperative blood salvage while highlighting the importance of monitoring.