Acute normovolemic hemodilution in total knee arthroplasty, a prospective study

Abstract Objective: In this prospective, randomized, controlled trial we sought to evaluate the effectiveness of acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) in terms of decreasing the need for allogeneic transfusion after conventional unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Summary of Background Data: TKA is often performed with an occlusive tourniquet, and thus, it could be considered ideally suited for ANH, because the chief benefit of ANH is red blood cell loss reduction and the shedding of whole blood perioperatively at lower hematocrit levels. Methods: Between January 2012 and May 2012, 40 consecutive patients scheduled to undergo elective, primary, cemented, unilateral TKA for knee osteoarthritis were enrolled. Patients were randomized to either a study (ANH) group (n=20) (Group A) or a control group (n=20) (Group B). Unit of allogeneic blood transfused was considered the primary outcomes. Results : In the ANH group, less allogeneic blood transfusion (6 units in Group A vs 15 units in Group B) was requi...