488a - 488a: Electrocardiographic Observations Regarding Transfusions in Geriatrics

Possible modifications of cardiac activity in old patients (over 70 years of age) were studied electrocardiographically during and after transfusion of quantities of blood normally used in hospital practice (an average of about 200 cc of blood).The blood was collected in evacuated jars holding 340 cc of blood and 62 cc of ACD solution (1.32 g of sodium citrate per cent), and transfused after storage from 1 to 4 days.No changes worth mentioning were seen in the ECG tracing, not even in the case of patients with cardiac affections (myocardiosclerosis, bundle block infarction sequelae, etc.).Likewise, slow intravenous injection of 30 cc of the ACD solution used never produced any changes of the tracing in the same patients and in others with cardiopathy or pulmonary lesions (emphysema, neoplasms). It is therefore concluded that citrated blood is well tolerated in geriatrics after short storage, if it is transfused slowly and in moderate quantities.