Blood transfusion after aortic valve replacement
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Blood transfusion after aortic valve replacement; does transfusion have a negative effect on mortality and morbidity outcomes and can we identify risk factors for transfusion pre-operatively?
IRAS ID
241808
Contact name
Enoch Akowuah
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 16 days
Research summary
The MAVRIC trial recruited 270 patients to undergo aortic valve replacement (replacement of a faulty heart valve) via a standard incision (sternotomy), in which the full length of the breast bone is divided, or via a manubrium limited mini-sternotomy in which only the top portion of the breast bone is divided. The primary endpoint was postoperative red blood cell transfusion
Current evidence would suggest that receiving a blood transfusion may be harmful. However anaemia is also harmful. The point at which a patient should receive a blood transfusion is currently under debate, with two large studies proving conflicting evidence. More evidence is needed to determine the effect of receiving blood transfusion after heart surgery.
Blood products are a limited and expensive resource. Blood is often selected for a patient and stored in theatre to await possible use during heart surgery. This has associated processing costs and may result in wastage of blood products if they are not required during surgery. If we can identify those patients more, or less likely to receive a blood transfusion, based on pre-operative risk factors, we may be able to use this resource more efficiently.
The proposed study will re-analyse the data collected during the MAVRIC trial to try to answer the following questions:
1. Does receiving a red blood cell transfusion after aortic valve replacement have a negative effect on mortality and morbidity outcomes?
2. What are the pre-operative risk factors for blood transfusion after aortic valve replacement?REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/YH/0122
Date of REC Opinion
16 Mar 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion