[Significance of hemodilution and deferred autotransfusions in spinal surgery in the child and the adolescent].

Homologous blood transfusions may involve immunological risks, as much as the risk of transmitting viral bacterial or parasitic illnesses. 140 children and adolescents having been operated for scoliosis were evaluated in order to compare hemodilution plus deferred auto-transfusion against standard transfusion techniques. By combining hemodilution and deferred autotransfusion, pre and post-surgery transfusions drop from 2725 to 370 ml of homologous blood, on the average. The combined use of these two techniques thus reduces the need for new homologous blood most significantly.