Publisher's Synopsis
This publication reviews current transfusion practice in cardiac surgery. It begins with an overview of the pathophysiology of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, the causes and mechanisms of blood loss, and a summary of methods for rapid diagnostic evaluation and therapy. Chapters that follow cover strategies to limit homologous blood use in surgery; the case for utilizing fresh blood in open-heart surgery; and ends with the results of a recent US survey of transfusion practices for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery as well as guidelines for homologous red blood cell transfusions in coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
