Objective

To determine the impact of a Cell Saver machine (CSM) on the number of blood transfusions administered to surgical patients in a veterinary referral hospital.

Methods

Retrospective review of medical records of dogs that received a blood transfusion at surgery or in the post-operative period, divided into whether the transfusion was autologous or homologous and divided into prior to and after acquiring a CSM. The surgeries performed were classified by type and whether or not they were considered to have a risk of hemorrhage. Data are presented as mean (min–max range).

Results

Blood transfusions were administered to 123 dogs in a population of 3654 dogs undergoing surgical procedures between November 2015 and February 2021. A mean of 52 (22–87) surgeries per month were performed in the first study period and a mean of 66 (45–97) surgeries per month were performed after the acquisition of the CSM. Of these, a mean of 15 (3–26) and 18 (10–30) surgeries per month were considered to be at risk of hemorrhage during the first and second periods, respectively. Since the acquisition of a CSM (Cell Saver Elite, Haemonetics, Boston, MA) in September 2019, 37 autologous blood transfusions (ABT) were administered, representing a mean of 2 (1–4) ABT per month. A total of 86 homologous blood transfusions (HBT) were performed during the study length, with a mean of 1.4 HBT per month during the first study period and a mean of 1.3 HBT per month during the second study period. Before the acquisition of the CSM, 0.026 HBT were performed per each surgery and 0.09 HBT per each surgery classified as hemorrhagic. After the acquisition of the CSM, 0.015 HBT and 0.024 ABT were performed per each surgery and 0.058 HBT and 0.093 ABT were performed per each surgery classified as hemorrhagic. Blood transfusion reactions were not observed in the ABT group, compared to 6/86 (7%) recorded in the HBT group.

Conclusions

The introduction of a CSM was suggested to allow accommodating the increase of overall blood transfusions by ABT instead of using extra units of blood from a Pet Blood Bank.

E-mail: ncomas@fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk