Severe Acute Blood Loss Anemia in Jehovah’s Witnesses Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: Single Academic Center Experience
Abstract
Objective
To determine the effect of severe acute blood loss anemia (ABLA) on postoperative outcomes in Jehovah’s Witness (JW) patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Design
This was a retrospective cohort study of adult JW patients undergoing cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) between January 1998 and December 2018 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
Setting
At a single tertiary academic center.
Participants
Patients who were JWs undergoing cardiac surgery requiring CPB.
Interventions
Patients were divided into the following 2 groups: JW patients who developed severe ABLA (defined as postoperative hematocrit level <21), and patients who did not develop severe ABLA.
Measurements and Main Results
A total of 48 JW patients who underwent cardiac surgery between 2008 and 2018 were identified. Of these patients, 9 (18.8%) developed postoperative severe ABLA, and 39 (81.3%) did not. Severe ABLA was associated with increased postoperative mortality at 30-days, 90-days, and 1-year postoperatively, and a trend toward increased hospital length of stay.
Conclusions
Severe ABLA after cardiac surgery was associated with higher mortality and a trend toward increased hospital length of stay among JW patients. More data are required to confirm the findings.