BACKGROUND Preoperative autologous blood donation is accepted as a standard of care for radical prostatectomy. Acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) is an alternative method for obtaining autologous blood. The cost and benefits of these two autologous blood-collection techniques are compared. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Thirty consecutive patients scheduled for radical prostatectomy underwent AN...

Mathematical simulations of oxygen delivery to tissue from capillaries that take into account the particulate nature of blood flow predict the existence of oxygen tension (Po(2)) gradients between erythrocytes (RBCs). As RBCs and plasma alternately pass an observation point, these gradients are manifested as rapid fluctuations in Po(2), also known as erythrocyte-associated transients (EATs). Th...

Hemodilution is one of the sequelae of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Autologous blood priming (retrograde autologous priming [RAP]/venous antegrade priming [VAP]) and acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) may be effective techniques to minimize hemodilution. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of RAP/VAP combined with ANH on changes in cerebral saturations. A retros...

If irreversible cerebral infarction from stroke occurred immediately at the time of arterial occlusion, there would be little hope of intervening therapeutically. However, even though there may be a central "core" of severe ischemia where brain tissue dies after a period of several minutes, in most situations there is a surrounding "ischemic penumbra" where blood flow is reduced enough to resul...

Intraoperative surgical blood loss is initially replaced by infusion of red cell-free, cristalloidal or colloidal solutions. When normovolemia is maintained the ensuing dilutional anemia is compensated by an increase of cardiac output and of arterial oxygen extraction. In the ideal case, a surgical blood loss can entirely be 'bridged' without transfusion by intraoperative normovolemic hemodilut...

BACKGROUND Isovolemic anemia results in improved gas exchange in rabbits with normal lungs but in relatively poorer gas exchange in rabbits with whole-lung atelectasis. In the current study, the authors characterized the effects of hemodilution on gas exchange in a distinct model of diffuse lung injury: venous gas embolization. METHODS Twelve anesthetized rabbits were mechanically ventilated ...

IT SEEMS APPROPRIATE to attempt to improve ce-rebral blood flow (CBF) in stroke. By so doing, oxygen delivery to the brain will increase and removal of the waste products of metabolism will be more efficient. Better flow should also increase the fragmentation and dispersal of existing thrombi and inhibit extension and spread of intravascular thrombosis. One approach to increase CBF is to improv...