| Allogeneic blood transfusion is associated with transfusion reactions, infection transmission, postoperative morbidity and mortality. Despite these known risks, reports have indicated that more than one-third of patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery still receive allogeneic blood, and nearly 20% of blood transfusions are associated with cardiac surgery.; The objective of this study was to develop and validate a clinical index to stratify cardiac surgery patients according to their blood transfusion needs. Based on the standards of measurement in clinical research, a valid clinical tool was developed for predicting the need for blood transfusion in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. This clinical tool consists of eight preoperative variables: preoperative hemoglobin, weight, female sex, age, non-elective procedure, preoperative creatinine, previous cardiac surgical procedure, and non-isolated procedure. The clinical tool was internally and externally validated, and the results suggest that it should perform well at other institutions. |
