An In-Vitro Comparison between Hemobag ® and Non-Hemobag ® Ultrafiltration Methods of Salvaging Circuit Blood Following Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Ultrafiltration of the residual cardiopulmonary bypass circuit blood has become one of the most advantageous procedures to maximize autologous whole blood recovery and coagulation management in cardiovascular surgery. In this in- vitro study, the Hemobag ® technique (HB) was compared to the most common non-Hemobag ® method (NHB) of hemocon- centrating residual circuit blood. The residual bovine blood from 10 identical extracorporeal circuits was processed by the recirculating HB technique or by a venous reservoir NHB con- centration method. Blood component concentrations and hemolysis levels were measured before and after processing. The HB method yielded significantly higher hemoglobin, hematocrit, fibrinogen, albumin, and total protein levels in the final product. There was no significant difference in final prod- uct platelet and white blood cell counts, or hemolysis index. HB processing times were substantially shorter at all residual circuit volumes tested. The HB technique resulted in signifi- cantly less wasted red blood cells at the end of processing. The recirculating HB method to process residual extracorporeal circuit blood is consistent and superior to the most common single pass concentrating method. Keywords: extracorporeal circuit , Hemobag ® , hemoconcentration , ultrafiltration , coagu- lation factors , autologous blood conservation , cardiac surgery. JECT. 2010;42:128-133