Transfusion
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Comment Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effect of unmodified or prestorage white cell-reduced allogeneic red cell transfusions on the immune responsiveness in orthopedic surgery patients.
The immunomodulatory effects of allogeneic blood transfusions have been attributed to the white cells (WBCs) present in the cellular blood components transfused to patients. ⋯ Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that transfusion of > or = 3 units of allogeneic RBCs is associated with early postoperative lymphopenia in otherwise healthy individuals undergoing surgery. These findings were not observed in those individuals transfused with RBCs that had undergone prestorage WBC reduction.