How Do You Ensure You Always Have Perfusion Support at Your Hospital, Without Over or Understaffing?
The need for perfusion services is rising due to the decrease of available perfusionists and the…
The study, “The effectiveness of acute normolvolemic hemodilution and autologous prime on intraoperative blood management during…
Study findings, “The Unintended Consequences of Over-Reducing Cardiopulmonary Bypass Circuit Prime Volume,” were published in the…
Review the study findings, “Does the Type of Cardioplegia Solution Affect Intraoperative Glucose Levels? A Propensity-Matched…
The risks and complications of blood transfusion are well documented. One technique commonly used to help reduce the need for bank blood is autotransfusion, also referred to as intraoperative autotransfusion (IAT) or autologous blood transfusion. IAT is a method of collecting the patient’s blood lost during surgery, processing it, and returning it to the patient. This can significantly reduce, or even eliminate the need for blood transfusions, which in turn reduces complications and the cost of care.
When hosts of the two most prominent perfusion education conferences join forces to create a single premier event, you can count on a four-day learning experience like you’ve never attended before—and that’s what SpecialtyCare and Perfusion.com have planned in 2018. For 30 years, SpecialtyCare hosted Mechanisms of Perfusion, one of the industry’s most highly regarded advanced learning forums. The Sanibel Symposium, hosted by Perfusion.com, has also earned a reputation as an elite, highly attended meeting, both in person and via their live webcasts. So, we are thrilled to now combine our expertise and resources to present The 2018 Sanibel Symposium, an unparalleled cardiac perfusion learning event at the Sanibel Marriott Resort and Spa in Ft. Myers, Florida, April 4-7, 2018.
Evidence-based patient blood management (PBM) strategies offer significant clinical benefits. Conservation techniques, in particular, help minimize the use of allogeneic red blood cell transfusion, which has been shown to increase the risk of postoperative complications, readmissions, and mortality among patients. Because of the importance of this area of study, SpecialtyCare researchers continue to drill down and analyze the perfusion and autotransfusion cases in SCOPE, the SpecialtyCare Operative Procedural Registry™, to examine the impact of various strategies, develop best practices, and improve patient outcomes.
To strengthen alignment among multiple surgical disciplines, the American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology (AmSECT) and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) teamed up to present a terrific joint learning opportunity, holding AmSECT’s 55th International Conference in conjunction with the Centennial Meeting of the AATS in Boston. The integrated program was designed to improve care by bringing surgeons, perfusionists, and other experts together to foster effective communication and coordination in the operating room. The combined meeting was a great example of collaboration that advances quality through evidence-based learning and improvement. We are proud to have been part of this special event.
Perfusion is an integral part of your hospital’s cardiovascular care program, but the overhead costs and administrative burden of maintaining and managing a team of reliable perfusionists with advanced skills can pose challenges for program administrators. It can be easy, however, to overlook both the indirect costs and benefits of clinical services. So, whether your perfusion is handled in-house or outsourced, we’ve developed a new guide, The Real Spend of Your Perfusion Program: Twelve Tips to Discover the True Value, to help you evaluate your program and any changes that you might be considering.
Collaborating and sharing research findings and best practices with other medical professionals is one of the great pleasures of working in healthcare. Recently, the American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion’s 38th International Meeting gave SpecialtyCare’s Medical Office team members the opportunity to present two new papers to the perfusion community. One of the studies examines “The Effect of Ultrafiltration on End-Cardiopulmonary Bypass Hematocrit during Cardiac Surgery.” The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of ultrafiltration on end-cardiopulmonary bypass hematocrit by cardiac surgical procedure type. The findings are summarized in today’s blog.