In five easy steps, prove to yourself that it costs less to use albumin than hetastarch during cardiothoracic surgery. Calculations used are based on a study comparing patients who received hetastarch to patients who did not receive hetastarch (Knutsen JE, Deering JA, Hall FW, et al. Does intraoperative hetastarch administration increase blood loss and transfusion requirements after cardiac surgery? Anesth Analg. 2000;90:801-807).

To print the Cost Savings Calculator, right click the Calculator and select "Print".

1. Fill in your product costs for albumin, hetastarch, and each of the four blood components, respectively. Be sure to add your hospital's administration costs to your acquisition costs for each of the four blood components. 2. Your costs for albumin and each of the blood components, respectively, based on the amount of product used during surgery are calculated in this column. 3. Your costs for hetastarch and each of the blood components, respectively, based on the amount of product used during surgery are calculated in this column. 4. Enter the number of cardiothoracic surgeries performed during the year at your hospital to determine an annual savings. 5. Click on "Calculate" to compare costs for hetastarch and each of the blood components, respectively, based on the amount of product used during surgery per year.