Transfus Med Hemoth
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Transfus Med Hemoth · Apr 2012
Patient Blood Management: A Patient-Orientated Approach to Blood Replacement with the Goal of Reducing Anemia, Blood Loss and the Need for Blood Transfusion in Elective Surgery.
Patient Blood Management (PBM) describes an evidence-based, multidisciplinary therapeutic approach. Its focus is on the treatment of the individual patient and as such comprises transfusion therapy and pharmacotherapy. ⋯ PBM is fundamentally based on 3 pillars: (1) optimization of the (preoperative) erythrocyte volume, (2) reduction of diagnostic, therapeutic, or intraoperative blood loss, and (3) increasing individual tolerance towards anemia and accurate blood transfusion triggers. PBM primarily identifies patients at risk of transfusion and provides a management plan aimed at reducing or eliminating the risk of anemia and the need for allogeneic transfusion, thus reducing the inherent risks, inventory pressures, and the escalating costs associated with transfusion.
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Transfus Med Hemoth · Jan 2010
Storage of Blood Components Does Not Decrease Haemostatic Potential: In vitro Assessment of Fresh versus Stored Blood Components Using Thromboelastography.
⋯ Fresh unrefrigerated whole blood and blood products stored for short duration (less than 21 days) were not superior to those stored for longer durations.
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During storage, red blood cells intended for transfusion undergo progressive changes affecting survival and function. Some of these in vitro changes are partly restored in vivo after transfusion, and their clinical effects are largely unknown. We evaluated publications of clinical studies comparing storage times in connection with red blood cell transfusion using physiological or clinical outcomes. ⋯ The use of different red blood cell products further obscures the issue. Available studies provide no evidence that longer stored red cells are more harmful than younger red cells. However, such an effect may occur under extreme clinical conditions of severe anaemia or septicaemia, but this can only be answered by randomised studies controlling for confounding factors.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common clinical disorder caused by a variety of direct and indirect injuries to the lung, characterized by alveolar epithelial and endothelial injury resulting in damage to the pulmonary alveolar-capillary barrier. The cardinal clinical feature of ARDS, refractory arterial hypoxemia, is the result of protein-rich alveolar edema with impaired surfactant function, due to vascular leakage and vascular dysfunction with consequently impaired matching of ventilation to perfusion. Since its first description in 1967, considerable knowledge concerning the pathogenesis of ARDS has been obtained, however, a plethora of questions remain. ⋯ However, lung-protective ventilation is the only confirmed option in ARDS management improving survival, and few other therapies have translated into improved oxygenation or reduced ventilation time. But despite improvement in our understanding of the therapy and supportive care for patients with ARDS, mortality remains high. It is the purpose of this article to provide an overview of the definition, clinical features, and pathogenesis of ARDS, and to present and discuss therapeutic options currently available in order to effectively treat this severe disorder.