Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · May 2003
Audit of transfusion procedures in 660 hospitals. A College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study of patient identification and vital sign monitoring frequencies in 16494 transfusions.
Hemolytic transfusion reactions are often the result of failure to follow established identification and monitoring procedures. ⋯ In many hospitals, the functions of identification and vital sign monitoring of patients receiving blood transfusions do not meet laboratory and blood bank accreditation standards. Differences in hospital transfusion policies influence how well health care workers comply with standard practices. We would expect that efforts designed to perfect transfusion policies might also improve performance in those hospitals in which practice compliance is substandard.