Retracted: Safety of cardiac surgery without blood transfusion: a retrospective study in Jehovah’s Witness patients

Abstract

SummaryThe aim of this retrospective study was to compare the utilisation of blood products and outcomes following cardiac surgery for 123 Jehovah's Witnesses and 4219 non-Jehovah's Witness patient controls. The study took place over a 7-year period at the Amphia Hospital in Breda, the Netherlands. A specific protocol was used in the management of Jehovah's Witness patients, while the control group received blood without restriction according to their needs. Patients' characteristics were comparable in both groups. Pre-operatively, the mean (SD) Euro Score was higher in the Jehovah's Witness group (3.2 (2.6) vs 2.7 (2.5), respectively; p < 0.02). Pre-operative haemoglobin concentration was higher in the Jehovah's Witness group (8.9 (0.7) vs 8.6 (0.9) g.dl )1

Short Term Outcomes after Cardiac Surgery in a Jehovah's Witness Population: An Institutional Experience

“…Nevertheless, the morbidity rates of major complications like neurologic deficit 2/59 (3.4%), deep sternal infection 1/59 (1.7%) and postoperative myocardial infarction 1/59 (1.7%) are well within the expected rates and compare with those reported elsewhere where outcomes were similar between the groups [3,5]. Furthermore, Table 6 shows that whilst more cases were performed electively and JW patients had a lower mean logistic Euroscore, on the whole, the JW cohort correlated well with the general population of patients undergoing cardiac surgery during this time.…”

“…Not only have these allowed for cardiac surgery to be undertaken safely in the JW population [3,5], but they have been extended to allow for a wide range of complex surgeries at only a slightly increased mortality risk [1]. We examined the short-term outcomes in this group of patients based on our institutional practice over the past decade.…”

Strategies and Outcomes of Cardiac Surgery in Jehovah's Witnesses

“…The second death was an 81‐year‐old woman with a BSA of 1.7 with an AGH CRS of 10 and a TRUST score of 4, who suffered severe hemodilution with probable hemolysis and subsequent/postoperative cardiogenic shock. Literature review of all JW undergoing cardiac surgery is outlined in Table 5 3 , 8‐14 …”

Outcomes from cardiac surgery in Jehovah’s witness patients: experience over twenty-one years

“…Moreover, a literature search identified four retrospective comparative studies evaluating cardiac surgery in Jehovah’s Witnesses in comparison to a control group of patients. Three studies compared outcomes after cardiac surgery between Jehovah’s Witnesses and a control group of matched transfused patients [ 4 , 6 , 7 ] and another one between Jehovah’s Witnesses and a matched group regardless of blood transfusion [ 5 ]. A comparison of the major demographic data and surgical outcomes between our study and previous comparative studies is shown in Table 5 .…”