Journal of clinical apheresis
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Rapid red cell transfusion by apheresis.
Packed red cells (RBC) are customarily infused slowly to allow time for re-equilibration of intravascular volume, but they may be given rapidly for convenience during hemodialysis or partial RBC exchange when blood volume can be adjusted extracorporeally. We describe an apheresis procedure for rapid transfusion of RBC to patients with chronic anemia in which an equivalent volume of recipient plasma is withdrawn as donor RBC are infused. Fifteen such procedures, transfusing 3 to 5 RBC units each, have been performed on nine patients (4 of them outpatients) with either COBE Spectra or COBE 2997. ⋯ Immediate post-procedure systolic blood pressures did not differ significantly from baseline, although one hypertensive patient had headache followed by increased blood pressure 4 hours after a procedure. We conclude that rapid transfusion of RBC is a technically feasible and more time efficient means for RBC transfusion. It is particularly attractive in the outpatient setting, and could also prevent fluid overload associated with RBC transfusion in some volume-sensitive patients.