Published 4 August 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3147
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3147

News

Blood transfusion from another person doubles infection risk after CABG surgery

Susan Mayor

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Having a blood transfusion from another person after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is associated with a twofold increase in infection after operation, warns a US study, which also shows considerable variation in transfusion practices between different hospitals (BMC Medicine 2009;7:37, doi:10.1186/1741-7015-7-37).

The practice of blood transfusion is currently in transition, after growing evidence in the last few years of adverse effects, particularly with allogeneic transplants, in which blood is provided by another person. To investigate this further, researchers from the University of Michigan evaluated outcomes in 24 789 patients undergoing CABG surgery at hospitals in the state of Michigan, paid for by Medicare and carried out between 2003 and 2006. All patients were 65 years of age and older, which is a requirement to qualify for Medicare.

Results showed that blood transfusion was common in these patients, with 83.9% of those taking part in the study . . . [Full text of this article]


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