Do collagen-impregnated knitted Dacron grafts reduce the need for transfusion in infrarenal aortic reconstruction?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of collagen-impregnated Dacron grafts in patients undergoing infrarenal aortic reconstruction. We therefore prospectively compared two consecutive series of patients undergoing infrarenal aortic reconstruction with Dacron grafts between January 1991 and December 1992. The first group (group A) included 83 high-density knitted prosthetic grafts (Dialine I), whereas the second included 82 grafts of the same type but impregnated with collagen (Dialine II). The two groups were comparable with regard to age, sex, and operative risk factors. They were also comparable in terms of the proportion of patients with occlusive disease or aneurysms, that is, there were 39 and 36 patients with occlusive disease and 44 and 46 patients with aneurysms in groups A and B, respectively. The type of bypass was similar in both groups with 17 and 19 tubular grafts and 66 and 63 bifurcated grafts being inserted in groups A and B, respectively. Thirteen parameters were studied and compared within each group including (1) number of infected grafts, (2) number of postoperative occlusions, (3) maximum postoperative temperature, (4) number of positive postoperative blood cultures, (5) number of postoperative deaths, (6) intraoperative and (7) postoperative quantities of blood transfused, (8) difference between pre- and postoperative hemoglobin concentrations, (9) difference between pre- and postoperative fibrinogen levels, (10) difference between pre- and postoperative platelet counts, (11) duration of aortic clamping, (12) date of return of intestinal function, and (13) mean duration of pre- and postoperative hospital stays.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)