Blood Transfusion Therapy

Lawrence Tim Goodnough; Anil K Panigrahi

doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2016.09.012

Blood Transfusion Therapy

Med Clin North Am. 2017 Mar;101(2):431-447. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2016.09.012. Epub 2016 Dec 24.

Authors

Lawrence Tim Goodnough¹, Anil K Panigrahi²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: ltgoodno@stanford.edu.
² Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Abstract

Transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) is a balance between providing benefit for patients while avoiding risks of transfusion. Randomized, controlled trials of restrictive RBC transfusion practices have shown equivalent patient outcomes compared with liberal transfusion practices, and meta-analyses have shown improved in-hospital mortality, reduced cardiac events, and reduced bacterial infections. This body of level 1 evidence has led to substantial, improved blood utilization and reduction of inappropriate blood transfusions with implementation of clinical decision support via electronic medical records, along with accompanying educational initiatives.

Keywords: Anemia; Clinical decision support; Red blood cell transfusion; Restrictive transfusion practices.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Anemia / therapy*
Blood Transfusion / methods*
Clinical Decision-Making
Humans
Meta-Analysis as Topic
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Transfusion Reaction
Virus Diseases / transmission