Reinfusion drains reduce postoperative transfusion requirements after primary total knee replacement surgery.

摘要

Unilateral primary total knee replacement (TKR) can result in a substantial blood loss, and 20-50% of these patients receive allogeneic red cell transfusion (ARCT) (Munoz et al., 2006a). Although there may be substantial hidden blood loss due to bleeding into the tissues and residual blood in the joint following TKR, 50% of the true total loss occurs during the postoperative period and, consequently, salvage and return of unwashed filtered shed blood (USB) from postoperative drainage may represent an alternative to ARCT in these patients (Munoz et al., 2006a).