Conventional haemofiltration during routine coronary bypass surgery

The use of conventional ultrafiltration during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been well recognized as an efficient modality of therapy to reverse the effects of deliberate haemodilution. Routine use of the haemofilter was prospectively studied on 60 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Group A consisted of 30 patients on whom the ultrafiltrator was used and compared to group B who did not receive the ultrafiltration technique. The COBE 1200 ultrafiltration device was used. The results of the study demonstrated that, in group A, the mean total amount of ultrafiltrate collected during bypass was 2510 +/- 804 ml per patient. The mean 24-h postoperative blood loss was 440 +/- 192 ml in group A and 451 +/- 136 ml in group B. The average bank blood transfused was 0.6 +/- 1.3 units per patient in group A and 0.75 +/- 1.5 units per patient in group B. Postoperative weight gain in group A averaged 3.5 +/- 3.45 lb per patient, compared to 4.8 +/- 3.7 lb per patient in group B. Postoperative length of stay averaged 6.4 +/- 1.5 days per patient in group A and 6.4 +/- 2.1 days per patient in group B. Overall patient charges averaged $33 706 +/- 8348 per patient in group A and $33 041 +/- 7674 per patient in group B. It was concluded that routine use of ultrafiltration during routine coronary artery bypass surgery with CPB offers no improvement in the quality of care nor does it decrease the patient's overall charges.