Information for Medical Professionals

Revision increases need for blood transfusion

Revision total elbow arthroplasty is associated with an increased likelihood of a patient requiring a blood transfusion when compared with those undergoing primary total elbow arthroplasty.

According to the researchers behind the paper Implications of Revision Total Elbow Arthroplasty on Blood Transfusion, increased operative and anaesthesia times, lower pre-operative haemoglobin levels and a decreased body mass index also boost the chances a transfusion will have to be carried out.

"Patients undergoing revision surgeries with preoperative haemoglobin levels of less than 10 g/dL are especially at risk of transfusion, and the proper precautions should be enacted during the perioperative period," the scientists wrote in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

Before coming to their conclusion, the researchers looked at a total of 193 operations in 172 patients.

The transfusion rate for revision arthroplasties was 7.8 per cent, while primary procedures had a rate of 0.1 per cent.

Recent research published in the British Medical Journal showed that hospitals specialising in orthopaedic surgery have better outcomes and patients are less likely to suffer from blood clots and infections following surgical intervention.

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