Transfusion
-
Comparative Study
Evaluation of polyethylene terephthalate for ABO and Rh typing and alloantibody screening.
For many years, hospitals and laboratories have used evacuated glass tubes for blood collection. To improve the safety of blood collection, plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tubes (Vacutainer PLUS, Becton Dickinson) have been developed. The objectives of this study were to compare the accuracy of ABO grouping, Rh typing, and antibody screening of blood samples collected in plastic tubes with that in glass tubes and to determine if refrigerated blood samples collected in plastic tubes remained stable over a 28-day period. ⋯ Samples collected into the PET serum or EDTA tubes provided accurate ABO and Rh typing results that remained consistent over a 28-day period. Samples collected in these tubes also appeared to enable accurate alloantibody identification. However, the number of alloantibodies identified in this study was small, and this result should be confirmed in a larger series.
-
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery accounts for a substantial portion of all allogeneic units of blood transfused. Drugs and autologous blood donation (ABD) are alternative or adjunctive methods for reducing complications and costs induced by allogeneic blood transfusions. Recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin) has the potential to decrease perioperative need for allogeneic blood during CABG, but its high cost calls for a careful economic evaluation before it can be recommended for widespread use. ⋯ On the basis of the existing evidence, neither of the blood-saving strategies modeled was a cost-effective means of avoiding the deleterious health effects of perioperative blood transfusions in CABG. However, if allogeneic blood-related infections were to be considered, both ABD and epoetin would be acceptable interventions.