Which patients are more likely to benefit from postoperative shed blood salvage after unilateral total knee replacement? An analysis of 581 consecutive procedures

Introduction Requirements for allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) after total knee replacement (TKR) are still high (30–50%), and salvage of unwashed filtered postoperative shed blood (USB) may represent an alternative to ABT. We evaluated that patients are more likely to benefit of USB reinfusion after TKR. Patients and Methods Data from 581 consecutive primary TKR, managed with (reinfusion group, n= 382) or without (control group, n= 199) reinfusion of USB, were retrospectively reviewed. Results Patients from reinfusion group received 119 ± 88 ml of red blood cells from USB, without clinically relevant incidents, and showed a lower ABT rate (30.6% vs. 8·4%, for control and reinfusion groups, respectively; P = 0·001) (transfusion trigger, haemoglobin [Hb]