Background. Results of a previous study revealed an over-ordering of blood products for cardiac surgery and led to the creation of a new blood ordering algorithm. This follow-up study has been conducted to evaluate improvement in ordering practices. Methods. Retrospective data were collected for 171 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting or valve surgery from March 2015 to March 2016 to determine the crossmatch-to-transfusion ratio (C:tx) and potential cost savings. Results were compared with pre-algorithm values and considered statistically significant if the 95% confidence interval did not include zero. Results. Prior to the algorithm, 100% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery were crossmatched. After instituting the algorithm, this decreased to 15%. The overall C:tx decreased from 7.97 to 2.14. Cost savings were calculated as $114.79 (coronary artery bypass grafting) and $129.05 (valve surgery) per patient. Conclusions. The creation of a new algorithm to guide ordering practices has significantly improved the C:tx, reduced unnecessary crossmatching, and lowered costs.
