A comparison of post-op haemoglobin levels and allogeneic blood transfusion rates following total knee arthroplasty without drainage or with reinfusion drains

Acta Orthop Belg. 2010 Feb;76(1):74-8.

Abstract

The effects of re-infusion drains on the rate of allogeneic blood transfusion and post-op haemoglobin levels in Total Knee Arthroplasty were examined. A group of 22 patients undergoing primary Total Knee Arthroplasty using a CBCII Constavac Stryker re-infusion drainage system were compared with a group of 30 patients, matched for age, sex and type of prosthesis but without any drain usage. The re-infusion drain.group had a significantly lower day 1 and day 3 post-operative haemoglobin compared to the non-drainage group. The re-infusion drain group had a higher allogenic transfusion rate compared to the non-drainage group. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the rate of wound and transfusion related complications and mean length of post-operative stay. We found that reinfusion drains were ineffective in reducing allogeneic transfusion requirements as compared with non-drainage in total knee arthroplasty.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee*
  • Blood Transfusion, Autologous* / instrumentation
  • Blood Transfusion, Autologous* / methods
  • Female
  • Hemoglobins / analysis*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged

Substances

  • Hemoglobins