Blood conservation is based on the principle of avoiding allogeneic blood transfusion with the aim of improving outcome and protecting patients' rights. Surgical patients receive a significant proportion of the allogeneic blood transfused in the hospital. Blood conservation in surgery greatly reduces overall allogeneic blood use, thereby reducing costs, hazards, and adverse outcomes. Blood conservation techniques aim to lower the ''transfusion trigger,'' optimize the hematocrit, minimize blood loss, and optimize tissue oxygenation. Successful blood conservation involves a combination of techniques tailored to the individual patient. It requires planning and a multidisciplinary team approach but usually little technology. Bloodless medicine and surgery programs represent the gold standard in blood conservation. Blood conservation is evidence based, and it results in faster recovery, lower morbidity, lower mortality, shorter hospital stay, lower cost, and better patient (and physician) satisfaction while avoiding the hazards of allogeneic blood transfusion. Blood conservation is thus the current standard of care.
This case report describes bloodless management of a 32-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who had severe obstetric hemorrhage at 23 weeks of gestation, spontaneously delivering twin fetuses. After resuscitation with crystalloids and colloids, the patient was still bleeding and hemoglobin fell to 3.3 g/dL. She had emergency hysterectomy. On postoperative day 1, her hemoglobin was 1.3 g/dL and Glasgow Coma Scale 6 of 15. Electrolyte derangement and fluid overload were detected and treated promptly. She regained consciousness and received intravenous iron and erythropoietin. She recovered fully without complications and without blood transfusion. Hemoglobin at discharge (postoperative day 18) was 6.9 and 12.5 g/dL 4 months later.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.