Endorsing single-unit transfusion combined with a restrictive haemoglobin transfusion threshold after knee arthroplasty.

The authors conducted a prospective, pre- (93 patients) and post-intervention (347 patients) study to evaluate a new transfusion strategy designed to reduce the rate of allogeneic transfusion and promote single-unit transfusion in patients undergoing primary unilateral knee arthroplasty.

They conclude that restrictive hemoglobin thresholds are a safe and potent frontline strategy for decreasing the rate of blood transfusion. Judicious endorsement of single units is a secondary strategy for reducing the consumption of blood when the transfusion hemoglobin trigger is strict.

– Elvira Bisbe