Abstract
Objective: To review current literature evidence on outcomes of cardiac
surgery in Jehovah’s Witness patients. Methods: A comprehensive
electronic literature search was done from inception to 20th August 2020
identifying articles that discussed optimisation/outcomes of cardiac
surgery in Jehovah’s Witness either as a solo cohort or as comparative
to non-Jehovah’s Witnesses. No limit was placed on time and place of
publication and the evidence has been summarized in a narrative manner
within the manuscript. Results: The outcomes of cardiac surgery in
Jehovah’s Witness patients has been described, and also compared, to
non-Witness patients within a number of case reports, case series and
comparative cohort studies. Many of these studies note no significant
differences between outcomes of the two groups for a number of
variables, including mortality. Pre-, intra- and post-operative
optimisation of the patients by a multidisciplinary team is important to
achieve good outcomes. Conclusion: The use of a bloodless protocol for
Jehovah’s Witnesses does not appear to significantly impact upon
clinical outcomes when compared to non-Witness patients, and it has even
been suggested that a bloodless approach could provide advantages to all
patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Larger cohorts and research across
multiple centres into the long term outcomes of these patients is
required.