This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Bulger, E. M Articles by Maier, R. V Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Autologous blood transfusion in trauma

Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, USA, ebulger{at}u.washington.edu

Ronald V Maier

Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, USA

Transfusion of autologous blood, recovered from the surgical field, has been widely accepted for use in elective cases with significant blood loss. The use of these techniques in the setting of exsanguinating traumatic haemorrhage has been limited, however, by a number of confounding issues. These include: (a) the potential for increased infectious complications resulting from the reinfusion of blood from a contaminated field; (b) the risk of exacerbating a consumptive coagulopathy; (c) a potential increased risk of multiple organ failure syndrome due to the infusion of cytokines and activated inflammatory mediators; (d) the practicality and logistics of this approach in the moribund patient; and (e) the cost-effectiveness of this technology. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the current literature addressing these issues and better define the role for autologous transfusion in the trauma population.

Key Words: autologous transfusion • trauma • autotransfusion • coagulopathy

Trauma, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-7 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/146040860100300101


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?