Anaesthesia Posters
AB283. SOH26AB_0280. Retrospective audit on the use of cell salvage over a 10-year period by a single operator in a non-cardiac centre
Kieran Moloney1, Hanna Balytska1, Shane Gorman1, Hugh O’Callaghan1, Cian McEllistrim2, Naro Imcha3, Zeeshan Ahmed3, Norma O’Brien4, Catherine Nix1
1Department of Anaesthesia, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland;
2Department of Haematology, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland;
3Department of Vascular Surgery, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland;
4Blood Transfusion Laboratory, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Background: Cell-salvage is recommended when it can be expected to reduce the likelihood of allogeneic (donor) red-cell transfusion and/or severe postoperative anaemia. In Ireland, where over 125,000 units of red blood cells are issued annually, and the system relies on more than 3,000 blood donations each week, robust intraoperative blood-conservation strategies are particularly important. We completed a retrospective audit on the use of cell-salvage over a 10-year period by a single operator in the main theatre suite of a model 4 hospital. Our aim was to examine its utility in a non-cardiac centre for major cases.
Methods: Major cases where cell salvage was set up were collated from a single operator’s logbook from 2015 to 2025. Blood bank records and patient charts for these cases were reviewed.
Results: Twenty-three cases were identified. Fifteen involved blood loss exceeding 2.5 L, with an average loss of 4.7 L. The dominant specialties were vascular surgery and complex obstetric surgery (placenta-accreta-spectrum). On average, 1.1 L of salvaged blood was reinfused, alongside 4.3 units of red cell concentrate (RCC), 4.4 units of plasma, 1.5 units of fibrinogen, and 0.8 units of platelets. Vasoactive supports were used in 17 cases.
Conclusions: Cell-salvage has significant utility in a non-cardiac centre managing a reasonable volume of major vascular and complex obstetric cases. Although highly effective in these cases, its use remains below the Associations of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI)/European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) recommendations for procedures with anticipated blood loss >500 mL. Expanding indications, improving staff competency, and ensuring consistent availability are needed to align model 4 practice with international best-practice standards.
Keywords: Cell salvage; intraoperative blood conservation; allogenic blood transfusion; perioperative anaemia; patient blood management
Acknowledgments
None.
Funding: None.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
doi: 10.21037/map-26-ab283
Cite this abstract as: Moloney K, Balytska H, Gorman S, O’Callaghan H, McEllistrim C, Imcha N, Ahmed Z, O’Brien N, Nix C. AB283. SOH26AB_0280. Retrospective audit on the use of cell salvage over a 10-year period by a single operator in a non-cardiac centre. Mesentery Peritoneum 2026;10:AB283.
