LAUSR

Blood loss warranting transfusion is a relatively rare complication of major‐joint arthroplasty procedures like total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA). Despite this rarity, pre‐transfusion testing (blood typing, screening, and cross‐matching) has become routine. We sought to determine if such routine testing is necessary for patients who undergo a primary TKA or THA by (1) measuring the current rate of intraoperative transfusions in primary TKA and THA patients, (2) identifying risk factors for transfusions, and (3) calculating the costs of such blood typing and screening.