Glossary
Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution (ANH)
In the proper hands, normovolemic hemodilution is elegant, cool, and makes lots of mathematical sense. So, why the heck isn’t it used all that often? First, performing ANH requires a knowledgeable operator (most commonly, an anesthesiologist) that understands how to collect donor blood, use the collection bags (with scales as applicable), and label the product. That combination doesn’t happen very often. Second, not enough clinicians even know about ANH, and fewer still consider it as an alternative to preoperative autologous blood collection. Finally, the data isn’t all that great on the benefits of ANH, especially in cases of only mild to moderate blood loss.
For more on discussion on the practical use of ANH and other methods in Patient Blood Management, see the March 2016 Blood Bank Guy Essentials Podcast discussion with Dr. Steve Frank on Bloodless Medicine.
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