Perioperative Cryoprecipitate Waste Reduction

Improvement of operating room efficiency regarding perioperative blood product transfusion is fundamental for surgical patients. The aim of this study was to 1) assess the use of cryoprecipitate in the operating room at our institution 2) identify and address gaps in knowledge regarding the process of ordering and returning cryoprecipitate 3) aim to reduce cryoprecipitate wastage by 50% over a 14-month period. Institutional data from Dec. 2017 to April 2020 was retrieved on cryoprecipitate that was ordered, thawed, and delivered to the operating room. Additionally, data was collected regarding cryoprecipitate that was wasted. A retrospective analysis of weekly intraoperative cryoprecipitate utilization was performed to compare wastage before and after implementation of interventions. Pre-intervention (Dec 2017 – March 2019), a total of 453 units of cryoprecipitate were issued with 14 units wasted (3% wastage). Between March 2019 and April 2020, the 14 months after our intervention, there were 402 units of cryoprecipitate issued with only 1 unit wasted (0.25% wastage). The overall cryoprecipitate waste rate was reduced by 91.66%. Month-to-month comparison of pre-intervention and post-intervention data identified significant reduction in average monthly wastage (0.875 vs 0.071 units respectively, p < 0.05). Appropriately, there was not a significant change in the mean monthly cryoprecipitate issued to the operating room (28.31 vs. 28.7 units, p = 0.94). These results demonstrate that utilizing educational initiatives for optimization of blood product management can reduce unnecessary ordering, transfusions, and wastage; an outcome that could ultimately reduce costs.