Low vs. high haemoglobin trigger for transfusion in vascular surgery: protocol for a randomised trial

Background In patients with cardiovascular disease, guidelines for administration of red blood cells (RBC) are mainly based on studies outside the vascular surgical setting with the recommendation to use a haemoglobin (hb) trigger‐level lower than by guidelines from The European Society for Vascular Surgery. Restricting RBC transfusion may affect blood O2 transport with a risk for development of tissue ischaemia and postoperative complications. Methods In a single‐centre, open‐label, assessor blinded trial, 58 vascular surgical patients (> 40 years of age) awaiting open surgery of the infrarenal aorta or infrainguinal arterial bypass surgery undergo a web‐based randomisation to one of two groups: perioperative RBC transfusion triggered by hb