Bovine Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carrier Treatment in a Severely Anemic Jehovah's Witness Patient After Cystoprostatectomy and Nephrectomy: A Case Report

A A Pract. 2019 Apr 1;12(7):243-245. doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000000901.

Abstract

Patients who are Jehovah's Witnesses are known to the medical community for frequently declining blood products, even at times of life-threatening anemia. Alternatives to red blood cell transfusion are being developed, including hemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen carriers. We present the case of a 77-year-old male Jehovah's Witness who underwent a cystoprostatectomy and radical nephrectomy with a postoperative Hb nadir of 4.5 g/dL. He received an Hb-based oxygen carrier, PEGylated carboxyhemoglobin bovine (Sanguinate), with gradual improvement in anemia symptoms and eventual discharge to a short-term rehabilitation facility.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Anemia / complications
  • Anemia / drug therapy*
  • Animals
  • Blood Substitutes / therapeutic use*
  • Carboxyhemoglobin / therapeutic use*
  • Cattle
  • Cystectomy / adverse effects*
  • Humans
  • Jehovah's Witnesses*
  • Male
  • Nephrectomy / adverse effects*
  • Polyethylene Glycols / therapeutic use*
  • Postoperative Complications / therapy*
  • Prostatectomy / adverse effects*

Substances

  • Blood Substitutes
  • PEGylated carboxyhemoglobin bovine
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Carboxyhemoglobin