Bloodless cardiac surgery: a strategy for few or the future standard of care?

Abstract

Bloodless cardiac surgery: a strategy for few or the future standard of care? P roviding access to medical therapy for patients who are unable to receive blood transfusion on the basis of religious or other principles is an important clinical challenge. In preparation for meeting the needs of these patients, practitioners should assess whether alternate approaches to medical and surgical management allowing for bloodless care are feasible. On the basis of research with these patients, there is now evidence that blood-sparing strategies can generate outcomes superior to those resulting from the current state-of-the-art management applied to the wider patient population.