Factors That Predict Blood Loss After Bernese Periacetabular Osteotomy

Although strategies to reduce bleeding and avoid allogeneic transfusion have been described, there is controversy about the factors associated with blood loss after Bernese periacetabular osteotomy. This study was conducted to determine risk factors for postoperative blood loss. After institutional review board approval was obtained, a retrospective review was conducted of 41 young patients who underwent periacetabular osteotomy for symptomatic acetabular dysplasia over a 3-year period. Of these patients, two-thirds donated blood before surgery. A Cell Saver Elite autotransfusion system (Haemonetics, Braintree, Massachusetts) was used intraoperatively in all cases. Hemoglobin and hematocrit were obtained before surgery and during the hospital stay. The primary outcome variable was the percentage of total blood volume lost during surgery. Univariate analysis was performed to test the association between potential predictors of blood volume loss. Candidate variables that were significant at alpha=0.15 were tested with multivariate analysis. The average percentage of blood volume lost during surgery was 30.3% (95% confidence interval, 25.1%-35.5%). Univariate analysis showed that operative time, arthrotomy, femoral head-neck osteochondroplasty, labral procedure, male sex, and age were prognostic factors associated with increased blood volume loss. However, operative time (average, 294.6 minutes; range, 204-444 minutes) was the only independent predictor of increased blood loss in the final model. Additional procedures, such as femoral head-neck osteochondroplasty and labral repair or debridement performed through an anterior hip arthrotomy at the time of periacetabular osteotomy, were associated with increased operative time. The findings suggest that all patients undergoing periacetabular osteotomy, including those having concomitant procedures, may benefit from pre- and intraoperative strategies to conserve blood and avoid allogeneic transfusion.