Patient Safety Improved with Reduction in Blood Transfusions

Blood transfusions save lives, but they also carry risks. Studies during the past 10 years have found that transfusions make patients more susceptible to infections and increase the risks of poor outcomes such as longer hospital stays, cancer recurrences, and multi-organ system failures.

Transfusions of red blood cells, platelets, plasma, and other blood products were approved decades ago without randomized controlled clinical trials to establish optimal uses. Consequently, doctors sometimes order more transfusions than necessary said Phillip J. DeChristopher, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and medical director of transfusion medicine, blood bank, and apheresis.
He noted that the amount of plasma transfused per patient in the United States is two to three times higher than the amounts transfused in Canada and Europe.

In a Loyola University study, a new initiative was launched for blood utilization as part of its Blood Management Program. The program implemented blood-use protocols that included evidence-based indications, educational programs for doctors and nurses, and oversight of the Blood Utilization Review Committee.

The study demonstrated how the hospital improved patient safety and cut costs by reducing the number of blood transfusions. These results were reported at the recent annual meeting of the College of American Pathologists, which took place from September 26–29, 2010, in Chicago (IL, USA).

Results of a small clinical trial reported at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting in San Diego (CA, USA) on October 18, 2010, demonstrated how a new noninvasive continuous blood monitor could reduce the number of blood transfusions given during surgery.

Developed by Masimo (Irvine, CA, USA) the Radical-7 pulse oximeter equipped with continuous hemoglobin monitoring sensors helped anesthesiologists to know whether a patient's blood count is critical without having to wait for lab reports. The results of the trial showed that the real-time blood-monitoring tool could cut the number of transfusions by almost 86%.

Making sure blood transfusions are performed only when necessary would help lower complications from transfusions. Although they save lives, transfusions also carry risks of serious immune reactions. Blood management will also help relieve chronic shortages in the blood supply, especially during summers and holiday seasons when donations drop.

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