Newsroom

Does this liver surgery patient need a blood transfusion? New tool can help doctors decide


September 21, 2017


Health care providers now have a new tool to help decide whether a liver surgery patient needs a blood transfusion, thanks to a study led by Drs. Guillaume Martel and Dean Fergusson. Liver surgery often involves major bleeding, and about one in four patients will receive a transfusion. While transfusions can be lifesaving, they also come with small risks such as infections, allergic reactions, cardiovascular effects and possibly worse cancer results after surgery. To develop the tool, a multidisciplinary panel of experts performed a systematic review that looked at 468 scenarios before, during and after liver surgery. 47.4% of the situations were appropriate for transfusion, 28.2% were inappropriate and 24.4% were uncertain. The resulting tool published in Annals of Surgeryuses a number of patient factors to calculate whether a transfusion is appropriate, inappropriate or uncertain. This tool is unique because it can be applied to transfusions given both during and after liver surgery. The next step is to validate the criteria in the clinic.

Authors: Sean Bennett, Alan Tinmouth, Daniel McIsaac, Shane English, Paul Hébert, Paul Karanicolas, Alexis Turgeon, Jeffrey Barkun, Timothy Pawlik, Dean Fergusson, Guillaume Martel

Funding: Department of Surgery, University of Ottawa and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

The Ottawa Hospital: Inspired by research. Driven by compassion


The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s largest learning and research hospitals with over 1,100 beds, approximately 12,000 staff and an annual budget of over $1.2 billion. Our focus on research and learning helps us develop new and innovative ways to treat patients and improve care. As a multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, we deliver specialized care to the Eastern Ontario region, but our techniques and research discoveries are adopted around the world. We engage the community at all levels to support our vision for better patient care. See www.ohri.ca for more information about research at The Ottawa Hospital.

University of Ottawa: —A crossroads of cultures and ideas


The University of Ottawa is home to over 50,000 students, faculty and staff, who live, work and study in both French and English. Our campus is a crossroads of cultures and ideas, where bold minds come together to inspire game-changing ideas. We are one of Canada’s top 10 research universities—our professors and researchers explore new approaches to today’s challenges. One of a handful of Canadian universities ranked among the top 200 in the world, we attract exceptional thinkers and welcome diverse perspectives from across the globe. www.uottawa.ca

Media Contact


Amelia Buchanan
Senior Communication Specialist
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Office: 613-798-5555 x 73687
Cell: 613-297-8315
ambuchanan@ohri.ca