• Antonio Del Vecchio, Erick Henry, Gabriele D'Amato, Annamaria Cannuscio, Luigi Corriero, Mario Motta, and Robert D Christensen.
• Division of Neonatology, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Di Venere Hospital , Bari , Italy .
• J. Matern. Fetal. Neonatal. Med. 2013 Oct 1;26 Suppl 2:77-9.

AbstractBronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) all likely involve oxidative damage to immature tissues. It has been postulated that transfusions of adult erythrocytes contribute to the risk of developing these morbidities, as a consequence of adult hemoglobin releasing non-physiological quantities of O₂ to developing tissues. In 2009, we instituted a concerted effort to diminish erythrocyte transfusions in our NICU, and in 2013 we performed a before vs. after practice change analysis of the incidence of BPD, ROP and NEC during the 8-year period spanning this change. The transfusion rate fell from a high of 14.8% of admissions in 2007 to a low of 6.3% in 2011 (p < 0.001). Concordant with this reduction patients had a lower incidence of; BPD (from 3.2% to 0.9%; OR, 3.722; CI 1.897-7.302), ROP (from 4.6% to 2.4%; OR 1.958, CI 1.247-3.073), and a trend toward less NEC (from 0.7% to 0.2%; OR 3.090, CI 0.835-11.443).

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