Adverse Effects of Perioperative Blood Transfusion in Spine Surgery.

BACKGROUND

Perioperative blood transfusion is often necessary during spine surgery because of blood loss from the surgical field during and after surgery. However, blood transfusions are associated with a small but significant risk of causing several adverse events including hemolytic transfusion reactions and transfusion-associated circulatory overload. Moreover, many prior publications have noted increased rates of perioperative morbidity and worsened outcomes in spine surgery patients who received blood transfusions. We performed a systematic review of the literature to better characterize the effects of blood transfusion on spine surgery outcomes.

METHODS

The PubMed/MEDLINE database was queried using the composite key word "transfus∗ AND 'spine surgery.'" A title and abstract review were performed to identify articles for final inclusion.

RESULTS

A title and abstract review of the resulting 372 English-language articles yielded 13 relevant publications, which were subsequently incorporated into this systematic review. All included studies were retrospective, nonrandomized analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, prior literature indicates a relationship between perioperative blood transfusion and worsened outcomes after spine surgery. However, the available data represent level IV evidence at best. In the future, prospective, randomized, controlled studies may help define the effects of perioperative blood transfusion on spine surgery outcomes.