The results suggest cell salvage is efficacious in reducing the need for allogeneic red cell transfusion in adult elective cardiac and orthopaedic surgery. The use of cell salvage did not appear to impact adversely on clinical outcomes. However, the methodological quality of trials was poor. As the trials were unblinded and lacked adequate concealment of treatment allocation, transfusion practices may have been influenced by knowledge of the patients' treatment status potentially biasing the results in favour of cell salvage.
Coronary surgery without cardiotomy suction and autotransfusion reduces the postoperative systemic inflammatory response.
Cardiotomy suction and autotransfusion of mediastinal shed blood may contribute to the inflammatory response after cardiac surgery. We compared inflammatory activation, myocardial injury, bleeding, and hemoglobin levels in patients undergoing coronary surgery with or without retransfusion of cardiotomy suction blood and mediastinal shed blood.
                Twenty-nine patients were included in a prospective randomized study. Cardiotomy suction blood and mediastinal shed blood were either retransfused or discarded. Plasma concentrations of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 and complement factor C3a were measured preoperatively and 10 minutes, 2 hours, and 24 hours after cardiopulmonary bypass. C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, troponin-T, and hemoglobin levels were analyzed preoperatively, and 24 and 48 hours after cardiopulmonary bypass. Postoperative bleeding the first 12 hours was registered.
                Baseline data did not differ between the groups. Plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and C3a increased after surgery in both groups but significantly less in the group without cardiotomy suction and autotransfusion. The peak delta values in the no-retransfusion group was 36% (tumor necrosis factor-alpha), 47% (interleukin-6), and 75% (C3a) of the values in the retransfusion group. C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and troponin-T increased after surgery in both groups without intergroup differences. Postoperative bleeding and hemoglobin levels did not differ between the groups. No patient received homologous blood transfusion.
                Coronary surgery without retransfusion of cardiotomy suction blood and mediastinal shed blood reduces the postoperative systemic inflammatory response.