Antegrade rapid prime displacement in elective coronary artery surgery is associated with lower perioperative blood transfusions and a shorter hospital stay.

Objectives: Haemodilution during cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with increased perioperative blood transfusions and is thought to reduce intraoperative oxygen delivery to the brain. We sought to evaluate our method of rapid antegrade prime displacement in the context of the perioperative blood transfusion rate, intraoperative cerebral saturations and postoperative hospital stay.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 160 propensity-matched patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting was performed comparing different perfusion strategies on perioperative blood transfusion and length of postoperative stay.