Effect of a patient blood management programme on preoperative anaemia, transfusion rate, and outcome after primary hip or knee arthroplasty: a quality improvement cycle.

In this clincally important study, the authors demonstrate that the development of an active blood management program based on a retrospective analyse of their own data is able not only to reduce exposure to allogeneic red blood cell transfusion but also to improve patients’ outcome. Of note, in the orthopedic surgical population evaluated, the patient blood management program that was implemeted focused mainly on the detection and the treatment of preoperative anemia.

– Philippe Van der Linden