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Thoracic Surgeons’ Practice Patterns and Attitudes Toward Preoperative Testing for Blood Resource Use: An International Survey

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Blood transfusions are rare during elective thoracic surgery, yet routine ordering of preoperative type and screens (pre-T&S) is common. In this context, an international survey was conducted to assess thoracic surgeons' practice patterns. Methods: test for continuous variables. Results: Surveys were sent to 2499 thoracic surgeons, 173 of whom filled out the survey; 129 (74.6%) surveys were fully completed. Most respondents were male (88.4%), with a mean age of 52.6 (SD 9.5) years (n = 127) and an average of 18.4 (9.5) years in practice. Most were from North America (54.0%). A total of 78.8% of surgeons routinely order a pre-T&S; however, the average estimated bleeding incidence was 4.0%, with an intraoperative transfusion rate of 2.0%. Despite routine pre-T&S ordering, 57.5% of surgeons were willing to use a decision aid tool, if available. Surgeons reported that institutional policy affected their practice. Conclusions: Largely because of institutional policy, most surgeons worldwide still order a routine pre-T&S despite acknowledging a low bleeding risk and the rarity of intraoperative transfusions. Most surgeons are open to changing this practice.

Source: Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports

DOI: 10.1016/j.atssr.2025.05.003

Authors: Ayham M. Odeh, Raymond A. Verm, Marshall S. Baker, Wissam Raad, Richard Freeman, Zaid M. Abdelsattar