Cell salvage

Cell salvage for minimizing perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion (Review)

Carless PA, Moxey AJ, O’Connell DL, Brown T, Fergusson DA
Faculty of Health, The University of Newcastle, Discipline of Clinical Pharmacology, Level 5, Clinical Sciences Building, Newcastle Mater Hospital, Edith Street, Waratah, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
The Cochrane Collaboration, published in The Cochrane Library 2008, Issue 2

  • The aim was to examine the evidence for the efficacy of cell salvage in reducing allogeneic blood transfusion and the evidence for any effect on clinical outcomes.
  • The use of cell salvage reduced the rate of exposure to allogeneic RBC transfusion by a relative 39%. The use of cell salvage resulted in an average saving of 0.67 units of allogeneic RBC per patient. Cell salvage did not appear to impact adversely on clinical outcomes.
  • The cell salvage techniques investigated were washed blood and autologous filtered blood. Blood was collected both intra- and post-operatively.
  • The results suggest cell salvage is efficacious in reducing the need for allogeneic RBC transfusion in adult elective surgery.