Baxter increases surgical efficiency and improves outcomes by helping to reduce bleeding related complications

For all patients undergoing surgery, surgeons aim to prevent excessive bleeding and avoid complications, which can increase the risk of illness and mortality.  To do so, surgeons utilize different hemostatic (blood loss reduction) strategies that may include  the use of different products known as hemostats to help limit and stop bleeding. The efficacy of different hemostats depends on a variety of factors including the patient’s profile and the severity of bleed. For example, a recent retrospective analysis assessing the impact of hemostatic strategies on bleeding-related complications and hospital costs showed that choosing the most effective hemostat for a situation can reduce bleeding-related complications and cost of care1.  Depending on the type of hemostatic product selected, the study found patients experienced 18% lower bleeding complications, 20% shorter ICU length of stay (LOS) and 9% shorter overall hospital LOS1.

The VIBe Scale is the first surgeon-validated intraoperative bleeding scale used to reliably assess bleeding severity within a procedure. It helps surgeons to identify and communicate the severity of bleeding experienced by a patient during surgery, allowing the OR team to identify and utilize the most appropriate product to stop the bleeding.  The scale leverages five distinct grades of bleeding based on anatomic appearance, qualitative description, and visual estimated blood loss.

When its use is incorporated through best practices such as surgical checklists, the VIBe Scale becomes a valuable tool that creates a common language for a surgical team, allowing them to more promptly assess bleeding severity, select the most appropriate product and reduce bleeding related complications. Result? Outcomes improve, medical services are more efficient, and the burden on the healthcare system is reduced.

 Baxter can support hospitals and health care systems in implementing the VIBe Scale.

1.       Iannitti et al. Impact of an active hemostatic product treatment approach of bleeding-related complication and hospital cost among inpatient surgeries in the United States Journal of Medical Economics, 24:1,514-532

For more information: www.baxter.ca