Anaesthesia and 
peri-operative care for Jehovah's ...
1.6K
Description

Anaesthesia and 

peri-operative care for Jehovah's Witnesses and 

patients who refuse blood 


1. Patients should be given a clear explanation of the blood products 

that the medical team looking after them consider might be 

required during or after surgery, and the risks involved if they 

refuse. Discussion of alternative treatments should be undertaken 

if available. 


2. It should be clearly documented in the medical record which 

treatments and/or procedures the patient consents to and which 

they do not. 


3. At least 6 weeks before elective surgery likely to be associated 

with significant blood loss, the patient's Hb should be checked and 

if < 130 g.l—l, optimisation by treatment with iron and/or 

erythropoietin should be considered. 


4. All relevant issues should be highlighted at the time of the team 

briefing and during the surgical safety checklist before induction of 

anaesthesia. A specific checklist recording which 

components/products/procedures the patient will or will not 

accept should be available. 


5. The majority of Jehovah's Witnesses will accept intra-operative 

cell salvage - this should be discussed before surgery and if 

agreed set up from the start of surgery. Consent should be 

obtained. 


6. The interventions promoted as part of a 'patient blood 

management' approach should be rigorously applied, including 

tranexamic acid administration for major surgery. 


7. After surgery, a comprehensive verbal and written handover of 

the patient is essential. Staff should be made aware of any adverse 

intra-operative events and should understand and respect the 

wishes of the patient that will have been discussed before the 

procedure. 


#Jehovahs #Witnesses #Anesthesia #perioperative #preoperative #Management #Checklist
Contributed by

Dr. Aaron Brown
@aaronbrown
GrepMed Anesthesia Editor, UC Davis School of Medicine 2019
Medical jobs
view all

0 Comments

Related content