Clinical trial NCT01021631: TRACS STUDY: Transfusion Requirements After Cardiac Surgery
Official title: Transfusion Requirements After Cardiac Surgery: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (TRACS STUDY)
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: PHASE3
Conditions: Cardiac Surgery
Keywords: Cardiac surgery
Strategies of transfusion
Red blood cells
Liberal
Restrictive
Anemia
Lead sponsor: Instituto do Coracao
Sponsor class: OTHER_GOV
First posted: 2009-11-30
Enrollment: 500
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Blood transfusion is related to worse outcomes and the triggers for red blood cells transfusion are not well defined in cardiac surgery. Retrospective studies in cardiac surgery do not show benefits of red blood cell transfusion in reduction of morbidity and mortality in cardiac surgery. There are no prospective studies comparing outcomes between restrictive or liberal strategy in cardiac surgery.This study is a double-blind randomized study comparing clinical outcomes between two strategies of transfusion in cardiac surgery - liberal or restrictive.

Detailed description: Blood transfusion is commonly performed in patients submitted to cardiac surgery. However, there are many studies reporting adverse effects of this intervention and final data on benefits are not available. There are no prospective studies in cardiac surgery regarding red blood cell transfusions requirements. There are retrospective studies in cardiac surgery suggesting worse outcomes including higher rates of mortality in patients submitted to red blood transfusion. Hematocrit levels around 30% are usually recommended not evidence based. Our purpose is to prospectively evaluate two strategies of transfusion in 500 patients submitted to elective cardiac surgery: a liberal strategy - patients receive blood transfusion when hematocrit is lower than 30% since the intraoperative period until the ICU discharge; a restrictive strategy - patients receive blood transfusion only when hematocrit is lower than 24%.

Clinical outcomes, costs and quality of life will be compared.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* All elective primary and redo adult cardiac surgical patients for coronary artery bypass grafting, valve procedure or combined procedures
* Adults patients
* Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age less than 18 years
* Transplant procedures
* Emergency procedures
* Aortic repairs
* Congenital procedures
* Previous anemia (hemoglobin lower than 10 g/dL)
* Previous thrombocytopenia (platelet number lower than 100.000/mm3)
* Previous known coagulopathy
* Pregnancy
* Those unable to receive blood transfusion
* Patients who refused participation in the study

Primary outcomes:
measure: The primary purpose of this study is to compare clinical outcomes after cardiac surgery in patients submitted to different strategies of red blood cell transfusion
timeFrame: 30 days after surgery
Secondary outcomes:
measure: To compare length of stay in ICU, length of stay in Hospital, health-related quality of life, hospital costs and mortality between groups.
timeFrame: 3 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Sao Paulo
country: Brazil
facility: InCor - Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo
state: SP
Study officials:
affiliation: InCor - HCFMUSP
name: Ludhmila A Hajjar, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Hajjar LA, Auler Junior JO, Santos L, Galas F. Blood tranfusion in critically ill patients: state of the art. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2007 Aug;62(4):507-24. doi: 10.1590/s1807-59322007000400019.
citation: Auler JO Jr, Galas F, Hajjar L, Santos L, Carvalho T, Michard F. Online monitoring of pulse pressure variation to guide fluid therapy after cardiac surgery. Anesth Analg. 2008 Apr;106(4):1201-6, table of contents. doi: 10.1213/01.ane.0000287664.03547.c6.
citation: Carson JL, Stanworth SJ, Dennis JA, Trivella M, Roubinian N, Fergusson DA, Triulzi D, Doree C, Hebert PC. Transfusion thresholds for guiding red blood cell transfusion. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Dec 21;12(12):CD002042. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD002042.pub5.
citation: Nakamura RE, Vincent JL, Fukushima JT, de Almeida JP, Franco RA, Lee Park C, Osawa EA, Pinto Silva CM, Costa Auler JO Jr, Landoni G, Barbosa Gomes Galas FR, Filho RK, Hajjar LA. A liberal strategy of red blood cell transfusion reduces cardiogenic shock in elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2015 Nov;150(5):1314-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2015.07.051. Epub 2015 Jul 26.
citation: Galas FR, Almeida JP, Fukushima JT, Osawa EA, Nakamura RE, Silva CM, de Almeida EP, Auler JO, Vincent JL, Hajjar LA. Blood transfusion in cardiac surgery is a risk factor for increased hospital length of stay in adult patients. J Cardiothorac Surg. 2013 Mar 26;8:54. doi: 10.1186/1749-8090-8-54.
citation: Hajjar LA, Almeida JP, Fukushima JT, Rhodes A, Vincent JL, Osawa EA, Galas FR. High lactate levels are predictors of major complications after cardiac surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2013 Aug;146(2):455-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2013.02.003. Epub 2013 Mar 15.
citation: Hajjar LA, Vincent JL, Galas FR, Nakamura RE, Silva CM, Santos MH, Fukushima J, Kalil Filho R, Sierra DB, Lopes NH, Mauad T, Roquim AC, Sundin MR, Leao WC, Almeida JP, Pomerantzeff PM, Dallan LO, Jatene FB, Stolf NA, Auler JO Jr. Transfusion requirements after cardiac surgery: the TRACS randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2010 Oct 13;304(14):1559-67. doi: 10.1001/jama.2010.1446.