Effects of a comprehensive blood-sparing approach using body weight-adjusted miniaturized cardiopulmonary bypass circuits on transfusion requirements in pediatric cardiac surgery.

This study showed that a comprehensive blood-sparing approach while minimizing the priming volume of the CPB circuit resulted in a 24.7% avoidance rate of perioperative transfusion in infants <16 kg body weight. The results suggest that the less pump prime volume, the less dilution, and the less transfusion. However, this strategy requires further prospective evaluation. – Hiroshi Morimatsu