Cardiothoracic & vascular anesthesia
Acute normovolaemic haemodilution after cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Pooled resultResult — go to the resultRelative risk 0.94 95% CI 0.85–1.02Authors' conclusion
Acute normovolaemic haemodilution did not reduce the proportion of cardiac surgery patients who received allogeneic packed red blood cell transfusions during the postoperative hospital stay.
Study context
- Population
- Adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery
- Participants
- 1,899 vs 1,914
- Comparison
- Acute normovolaemic haemodilution (ANH) vs standard care
- ANHn = 1,899
- Standardn = 1,914reference
- Outcome
- Patients receiving allogeneic packed red blood cells (pRBC) transfusions during the in-hospital postoperative period (trials reporting only ≤48 h excluded)
Methodological detailsMost included trials had intermediate risk of bias (lack of outcomes reporting and blinding)
- Most included trials had intermediate risk of bias (lack of outcomes reporting and blinding)
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Relative risk
0.94
95% CI 0.85–1.02
P = 0.15
Events by group
ANH vs Standard
RR 0.94 (95% CI 0.85–1.02); P = 0.15
Further pooled results
| Outcome | RR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients transfused within 48 h after surgery · first 48 postoperative hoursI2=73% | 0.64 (0.48–0.84) | P = 0.001 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
All-cause mortality
- No difference in all-cause mortality, RR
- 0.73 (95% CI 0.43-1.24; P=0.25; I2=0%)
Other secondary outcomes
- No difference
Safety
- No difference in surgical revision rate, RR
- 1.22 (95% CI 0.91-1.65; P=0.18; I2=0%)
Original publication
Acute normovolaemic haemodilution after cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Anaesth. Published 19 January 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →