Novel ultrafiltration technique for blood conservation in cardiac operations

The performance characteristics and clinical outcome of a novel
hemoconcentrator, the HemoSep (Brightwake, Nottingham, United Kingdom), for
reusing salvaged blood postoperatively were evaluated.
HemoSep concentrates blood by removing the fluid component from a
pooled volume of blood salvaged at the end of the operation from the heart-lung
machine. During a 6-month period, 102 patients were prospectively randomized into
two groups. In group 1 (n = 52), salvaged blood in the venous reservoir after the
cessation of cardiopulmonary bypass was reused by the HemoSep device and the
processed blood was retransfused to the patients. In group 2 (n = 50), the
control group, the operation proceeded using conventional method without using
the hemoconcentrator.
The mean amount of processed blood was 775 ± 125 mL. The efficacy of
the HemoSep device was confirmed by the percentage concentration of the
hematocrit at 15 and 40 minutes. Serum albumin and factor VII levels were
concentrated more than threefold at 40 minutes vs baseline measurements. Patients
who received processed blood had significantly less need for an allogeneic
transfusion.
The HemoSep device functions as designed and without technical
failures, offering a complementary technique in blood management during cardiac
operations.