The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery recently published a retrospective matched case control study examining the association between perioperative allogeneic transfusion volume and postoperative infection for lumbar spine surgery patients.
The study includes 1,799 procedures performed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center from 2005 to 2009. The infection rate was 3.1 percent, found in 56 cases. Researchers found the volume of transfusion significantly associated with surgical site infection.
The study adjusted for both unmatched variables of preoperative hemoglobin level and volume of intraoperative blood loss.
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