Extreme haemodilution occurring with cardiopulmonary bypass imposes a primary risk factor for blood transfusion in small adult cardiac surgical patients. Priming of the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit with patients' own blood [retrograde autologous priming (RAP)] is a technique used to limit haemodilution and reduce transfusion requirements.
The objectives of this study were to determine the factors that influenced physicians' decisions to transfuse platelets perioperatively and to determine whether these factors coincide with characteristics using chart abstraction.
