Transfusion
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The American Red Cross began preferentially distributing plasma from male donors in 2007 and subsequently observed an 80% decrease in reported cases of transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) after plasma transfusion. Plasma distributions from male donors now exceed 99% for groups A, B, and O, but only approximately 60% for group AB. We evaluated the ongoing risk of TRALI and the ABO blood group of involved plasma donors. ⋯ The risk of TRALI after plasma transfusion has been markedly reduced for blood groups A, B, and O but not for AB, reflecting continued reliance on group AB plasma from female donors to meet increasing demand.
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A rapid method of reversal is required for patients on warfarin who suffer acute bleeding or require emergency surgery. Prothrombin complex concentrates (PCCs) have recently been recommended by the Canadian Blood Services for use at a fixed low dose of 1000 IU of Factor (F)IX activity. The main goal of this study was to investigate both the effectiveness and the safety of fixed low-dose PCCs. ⋯ At a fixed dose of 1000 IU of F IX activity, PCC seems to be effective and safe but randomized controlled trials, specifically examining different doses of PCC, are required to confirm the above observations.
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Since the 1970s red blood cells (RBCs) have had a rated shelf life of 42 days. Recently, studies have suggested poorer patient outcomes when older blood is transfused. However, shortening the shelf life of RBCs may increase costs and lead to greater instances of outdates and shortages. ⋯ A shelf life of 28 or 21 days is feasible without excessive increases to systemwide outdate, shortage, or emergency ordering rates. Large hospitals will see minimal impact; smaller hospitals will see larger increases and may be unable to find inventory policies that maintain both low outdate and shortage rates. Reducing the shelf life to 14 days, or lower, results in significant challenges for suppliers and hospitals of all sizes. All hospitals will see an impact on outdate and shortage rates; overall systemwide outdate rates (6% or more) will reach levels that would currently be considered unacceptably high.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Transfusion of banked red blood cells and the effects on hemorrheology and microvascular hemodynamics in anemic hematology outpatients.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion on the hemorrheologic properties and microcirculatory hemodynamics in anemic hematology outpatients receiving 2 to 4 RBC units of either "fresh" (leukoreduced storage for less than 1 week) or "aged" (leukoreduced storage for 3-4 weeks) RBCs. ⋯ Storing leukoreduced SAGM-suspended RBCs for 3 to 4 weeks did not affect their ability to improve hemorrheologic properties and microcirculatory hemodynamics in our small group of anemic hematology outpatients. Larger studies are needed to confirm this finding.
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Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides lifesaving hemodynamic and respiratory support to neonatal and pediatric patients with a variety of congenital or acquired cardiopulmonary defects. Successful ECMO support requires close collaboration among multiple services, including critical care medicine, perfusion, and transfusion medicine services. Neonatal and pediatric ECMO patients require significant transfusion support, both at the time of cannulation and after the ECMO circuit has been established, often with little advance notice. ⋯ In this article, we describe our protocol for transfusion support for ECMO and potential ECMO patients, which was developed to address a number of issues, including identifying and stratifiying ECMO candidate patients, streamlining the ordering and communication processes, and improving blood product turnaround times and availability. Additional measures of quality improvement are also discussed. As the number of centers performing ECMO procedures remains high, we believe that our experience may be of interest to our colleagues in transfusion medicine and critical care.