Blood transfusion is a common procedure essential for the treatment of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Inappropriate transfusions, however, not only incur needless healthcare costs, but increase unnecessary risks due to transfusion reactions and infectious and immunomodulative causes. Safe and appropriate patient care requires evaluated blood component prescription practices.

Practically all patients undergoing cardiac surgery in Finland have a blood product booking from the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service. This registry contains large volumes of transfusion-related information on all Finnish patients undergoing cardiac surgery in Finnish centers. Participating hospitals were scattered to all geographical areas in Finland and concentrated to the most populated regions.

Data on the blood product use, laboratory findings one month pre-operatively and 12 months post-operatively were available.

Finnish hospitals have been required to provide information on hospital visits for the Finnish National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health for healthcare planning purposes. We used in part the original data sent by hospitals to the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (FHDR).

Registry includes

• >21 000 patients who underwent coronary bypass,
• >4500 patients with aortic valve replacement,
• >4000 mitral valve operation.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Cardiac surgery performed in Finnish University and Central hospitals
• Blood product booking for surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

-

We collected data from patients who visited underwent cardiac surgery in Finnish hospitals during the years 2002 and 2012. Participating perform all the cardiac surgery in Finland and hospitals were scattered to all geographical areas in Finland.