Can erythropoietin therapy improve survival?
Anemia is a significant problem for cancer patients, especially those receiving chemotherapy. Preventing or treating anemia in these patients has clear cut quality of life improvements for the patients AND […]
Relationship of blood transfusion and clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes.
This is an important observational study which points towards higher mobidity and mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes who undergo transfusion. The results obtained, though not definitive due to […]
A comparison of albumin and saline for fluid resuscitation in the intensive care unit.
Essential reading material. The largest PRCT of Albumin vs Saline in 7,000 critically ill patients in Australia and New Zealand. Concludes “no-difference” in 28 day mortality. Subset trends to excess […]
The association of lowest hematocrit during cardiopulmonary bypass with acute renal injury after coronary artery bypass surgery.
Challenging data about correlation between hemodilution and acute renal injury (documented by increase of creatinine), however, seems only to be relevant in patients with overweight. – Volker Kretschmer
Erythropoietin to treat head and neck cancer patients with anaemia undergoing radiotherapy: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
This study by Henke et al. is certainly provocative. It reports a poor disease free and overall survival in head and neck cancer patients receiving locoregional radiation therapy. What might […]
Acute normovolemic hemodilution and intraoperative cell salvage in aortic surgery.
This retrospective study reviews the blood conservation strategy developed in patients undergoing infrarenal aortic surgery in a tertiary vascular unit from 1995 to 2001. The authors show that the judicious […]
Effect of blood transfusion on long-term survival after cardiac operation.
The authors studied a database of 1,915 patients who underwent isolated first time myocardial revascularization between 1994 and 1997 and found that blood transfusions during or after coronary artery bypass […]