A comparison of post-op haemoglobin levels and allogeneic blood transfusion rates following total knee arthroplasty without drainage or with reinfusion drains

The effects of re-infusion drains on the rate of allo geneic blood transfusion and post-op haemoglobin levels in Total Knee Arthroplasty were examined. A group of 22 patients undergoing primary Total Knee Arthroplasty using a CBCII Constavac Stryker ® re-infusion drainage system were compared with a group of 30 patients, matched for age, sex and type of prosthesis but without any drain usage. The re-infu sion drain group had a significantly lower day 1 and day 3 post-operative haemoglobin compared to the non-drainage group. The re-infusion drain group had a higher allogenic transfusion rate compared to the non-drainage group. There were no significant differ ences between the two groups regarding the rate of wound and transfusion related complications and mean length of post-operative stay. We found that reinfusion drains were ineffective in reducing allo geneic transfusion requirements as compared with non-drainage in total knee arthroplasty.