Effective use of heparin-bonded circuits and lower anticoagulation for coronary artery bypass grafting in Jehovah's Witnesses.

Despite many advances in blood conservation techniques, a significant proportion of patients undergoing primary coronary revascularization still require homologous transfusions. Based on a large clinical experience with high-risk patients during coronary artery bypass, a comprehensive strategy to diminish perioperative blood loss was developed by integrating many individual components. An integral component in this strategy is the use of lower heparinization (activated clotting time [ACT] > 280 sec) in conjunction with "tip-to-tip" heparin-bonded cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) circuits (HBC). This technique was prospectively applied to a group of Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) patients who refuse blood transfusion on religious grounds (n = 9). Outcome was compared to a matched group of patients treated with full heparinization (ACT > 480 sec) used with conventional, nonheparin-bonded CPB circuits (NHBC) performed within the same academic year (n = 455). There were no complications in JW patients who had a significantly lower mediastinal and pleural tube output in the first 24 hours (323 67 mL vs 984 616 mL, p < 0.01). In comparison to JW patients who received no transfusions, 68.1% of patients treated with NHBC were transfused (p 0.0001). In summary, HBC in conjunction with lower anticoagulation was effectively and safely applied to JW patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. This technique should be considered for broader clinical use.