BLOOD-TRANSFUSION REQUIREMENTS IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY - HEAD AND NECK-SURGERY

Background: Blood requirements for Head and Neck surgical procedures h ave not been studied carefully. In order to set up an autotransfusion program, the blood loss and transfusion requirements should be known p recisely. Methods: The blood bank database was used to determine which Head and Neck procedures required blood transfusion during the previo us 5 years. A list of 10 transfusion-associated operations was establi shed, the records of all patients who underwent these procedures durin g a 5-year period were reviewed, and average the blood loss and number of units transfused determined. Results: All procedures were for canc er resection. The operations were classified in 3 groups according to their transfusion probability: high (> 80%), low (<5%) and moderate. F or the moderate transfusion group, age, preoperative hemoglobin, and p ast medical history of cardiac and pulmonary disease were associated w ith higher incidence of transfusion. An average delay of 3 weeks was f ound between the diagnosis and the actual surgery. Conclusion: The tra nsfusion requirements of Head and Neck surgical procedures could be sa fely met by an autotransfusion protocol, given the average delay of 3 weeks between diagnosis and surgery.