Effect of blood transfusions on postop outcomes

Editor's Note

In this study, postoperative blood transfusions after noncardiac surgery were linked to increased adverse postoperative outcomes, except for postoperative myocardial infarction.

This analysis of nearly 50,000 patients at 52 hospitals found that postoperative transfusions were associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality (3.6%), morbidity (4.4%), and infections (1%). However, transfusions correlated with a 3.5% reduced risk of postoperative MI.

Hospitals that were liberal in their transfusion practices had higher mortality rates that restrictive hospitals (3.1% vs 2.2%).

Objectives: To identify the patient-level effects of blood transfusion on postoperative outcomes and to estimate the effects of different transfusion practices on hospital-level risk-adjusted outcomes. Background: Postoperative transfusion practices and their effects on short-term outcomes in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery are not well understood.