Washing of drained blood does not alter immediate immune effects of retransfusion.

Background: Retransfusion of postoperatively drained wound blood may be associated with adverse immune effects induced by many mediators present in unwashed filtered blood.

Study Design And Methods: In this randomized trial, the hypothesis that a washing procedure alters the course of markers of immune and inflammatory responses after retransfusion of blood collected from patients after endoprosthetic surgery is tested. Mean volume of blood reinfused was 363 +/- 173 mL in Group A and 352 +/- 180 mL in Group B.