Perioperative strategies to reduce transfusion rates in one-stage bilateral total hip arthroplasty via direct anterior approach.

Abstract

Despite several blood management strategies available, blood transfusion rates following total hip arthroplasty remain high. Therefore, this study evaluated transfusion rates following bilateral hip arthroplasty via direct anterior approach using a multimodal blood loss management approach for 213 consecutive patients. All patients received standard surgical and post-operative procedures, with allogenic transfusion performed if hemoglobin was less than 8.0 g/dL with persistent clinical symptoms. Thirty-two patients (15%) required transfusion, with those patients significantly older and had lower pre-operative hemoglobin compared to non-transfusion patients. This transfusion rate was much lower than previous literature and could be an appropriate, multimodal blood loss management strategy.