Thromboelastogram reduces blood use by inspecting coagulation in heart surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Blood transfusion after coronary artery bypass surgery is carried out according to general coagulation tests and blood counts. Our aim was to determine the effects of rotational thromboelastography results on the amount of blood products used in the intraoperative and postoperative periods in coronary artery bypass patients.

METHODS: Our study included 164 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass. A control group was formed from 82 patients picked from hospital records, who had elective coronary artery bypass before the introduction of rotational thromboelastography in our clinic. Blood transfusion was performed in this group according to conventional laboratory data. The study group comprised 82 patients who had elective coronary artery bypass after the introduction of rotational thromboelastography. Blood transfusion was performed in the study group according to rotational thromboelastogram results. The amounts of blood products used in the 2 groups were compared.

RESULTS: There were statistically significant decreases in the intraoperative and postoperative amounts of packed red blood cells (p = 0.012 and p = 0.006) and postoperative whole blood (p = 0.013) used in the study group compared to the control group. Postoperative bleeding was also significantly reduced (p = 0.001) in the study group.

CONCLUSION: Blood transfusion is an important issue after coronary artery bypass, and because of the decreased amount of blood products used, a rotational thromboelastography-based blood transfusion algorithm should be applied in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass.