Morbidity After Cardiac Surgery Unaffected by Age of Transfused Blood

A recent study showed that survival of critically ill patients was unaffected by the length of storage of transfused red blood cells (NEJM JW Oncol Hematol Mar 19 2015 and N Engl J Med 2015 Mar 17; [e-pub]). However, after lengthy storage, red cells have a decreased capacity to deliver oxygen to tissues, which might adversely affect surgical patients receiving perioperative transfusions.

To determine whether red-cell storage time affects the outcomes of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, investigators randomized 538 patients to receive red cells stored for a mean of 7.8±4.8 days and 560 patients to receive red cells stored for 28.3±6.7 days. Both groups of patients received a median of three transfused units through postoperative day 7. Th…