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Invited Commentary
Aug 13/27, 2012

Severe Blood Conservation: Comment on “Outcome of Patients Who Refuse Transfusion After Cardiac Surgery”

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, A301 Kentucky Clinic, Lexington.

Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(15):1160-1161. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.2458

The article by Pattakos and coauthors1 analyzes outcomes in Jehovah's Witness patients (Witnesses) who do not receive blood transfusion during cardiac operations. They use careful matching statistics to compare Witnesses with a matched group of non-Witnesses who received transfusion. They conclude that no long-term harm accrues to Witnesses as a result of extreme blood conservation interventions.

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