Journal article

Restrictive or liberal red-cell transfusion for cardiac surgery

CD Mazer, RP Whitlock, DA Fergusson, J Hall, E Belley-Cote, K Connolly, B Khanykin, AJ Gregory, E De Medicis, S McGuinness, A Royse, FM Carrier, PJ Young, JC Villar, HP Grocott, MD Seeberger, S Fremes, F Lellouche, S Syed, K Byrne Show all

New England Journal of Medicine | MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOC | Published : 2017

Abstract

BACKGROUND The effect of a restrictive versus liberal red-cell transfusion strategy on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery remains unclear. METHODS In this multicenter, open-label, noninferiority trial, we randomly assigned 5243 adults undergoing cardiac surgery who had a European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) I of 6 or more (on a scale from 0 to 47, with higher scores indicating a higher risk of death after cardiac surgery) to a restrictive red-cell transfusion threshold (transfuse if hemoglobin level was <7.5 g per deciliter, starting from induction of anesthesia) or a liberal red-cell transfusion threshold (transfuse if hemoglobin level was ..

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