[Intraoperative mechanical autotransfusion: studies on preserved blood for retransfusion]

The blood loss by 10 patients who underwent major thoracic or abdominal vascular surgery was saved with the Bentley Autotransfusion System ATS 2000. The blood was examined for several parameters. Disadvantages of the saved blood were: low haematocrit, high levels of free plasma haemoglobin, the size of fat particles, a shift to the left of the oxyhaemoglobin saturation curve and severe alteration of coagulation parameters. The results indicate, that autotransfusion should be used with caution.