Liberal versus restrictive red blood cell transfusion thresholds in hematopoietic cell transplantation: a randomized, open label, phase III, noninferiority trial.
This trial is a non-inferiority RCT comparing the effect of a liberal versus restrictive transfusion strategy on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients undergoing haematopoietic stem cell (HCT) transplant. The study focuses on HRQOL since multiple transfusion trials have already examined and shown no difference between a liberal versus restrictive transfusion strategy on mortality […]
Postoperative anaemia might be a risk factor for postoperative delirium and prolonged hospital stay: A secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study.
This study examines the association between postoperative anaemia and postoperative delirium. Given the high prevalence of postoperative anaemia, the authors were interested in understanding whether the lower oxygen delivery associated with anaemia would result in higher rates of postoperative delirium. This study was a secondary analysis of a previously done retrospective study. The study population […]
Improving preoperative haemoglobin using a quality improvement approach to treat iron deficiency anaemia.
In this article, the authors present their approach to the treatment of iron-deficiency anaemia in patients presenting for elective oesophagogastric surgery. These patients had a high incidence of preoperative anaemia which was not managed prior to surgery. The authors used a quality improvement (QI) approach and report their experience over three plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles in […]
NATA CME Webinar – Haemostatic monitoring and clinical decision making in patients with COVID–19-induced coagulopathy
The objective of this webinar is to provide participants with an update on the assessment and the management of coagulopathy associated with COVID–19. The live webinar was held on Monday, March 29, 2021. Click on the link below to view the on-demand version. View the on-demand webinar Agenda Chairs: Jens Meier, Linz, Austria Marco Ranucci, […]
Variation in red cell transfusion practice in the intensive care unit – An international survey.
This study aimed to explore the variation in transfusion practice amongst critical care physicians using a cross-sectional online survey of critical care providers identified through the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). Participants were presented with four clinical scenarios in which each patient had a haemoglobin of 7.3 g/dL and one of the following four […]
Rivaroxaban compared with standard anticoagulants for the treatment of acute venous thromboembolism in children: a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial.
In this multicentre, parallel-group, open-label, randomised trial, the authors compared the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban versus standard anticoagulants in children 0-17 years with venous thromboembolism. Across 107 paediatric hospitals in 28 countries, children with documented acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) who had started heparin were assigned (2:1) to weight-adjusted rivaroxaban or standard anticoagulants (heparin or […]
Preterm neonates benefit from low prophylactic platelet transfusion threshold despite varying risk of bleeding or death.
The Platelets for Neonatal Thrombocytopenia (PlaNeT-2) trial, a multicentre randomised clinical trial, found an unexpected overall benefit of a prophylactic platelet transfusion threshold of 25 x 10^9/L compared to 50 x 10^9/L for major bleeding and/or mortality within 28 days of randomization in preterm neonates (7% absolute risk reduction). To assess if there was heterogeneity of treatment effect and […]
Association of timing of plasma transfusion with adverse maternal outcomes in women with persistent postpartum hemorrhage.
Early plasma transfusion is believed to improve maternal outcomes in postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) because it could theoretically prevent or treat coagulopathy occurring among women treated for persistent PPH. However, as with other areas of PPH, studies evaluating the effect of plasma transfusion on outcomes of women with severe PPH are scarce. This study is an […]
The association between iron-deficiency anemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a retrospective report from Pakistan.
This study is a retrospective study examining the association between maternal and neonatal outcomes and iron deficiency. While the authors note that the link between iron deficiency and adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes has been established, their study was in a low-income country where the association between anaemia and adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes is […]
Fibryga® approved for acquired fibrinogen deficiency in Europe
New clinical data support efficacy of fibrinogen concentrate (fibryga®) in treating acquired fibrinogen deficiency and lead to label extension in Europe Fibrinogen replacement is widely accepted as an approach to managing acquired fibrinogen deficiency (AFD) in patients with critical bleeding, despite a lack of evidence until now from controlled clinical studies. Data from two comparative […]
Patient Blood Management is not about blood transfusion: it is about patients’ outcomes
In an editorial published in Blood Transfusion, Thomas Frietsch, Aryeh Shander, David Faraoni and Jean-Francois Hardy comment on the results of the Frankfurt Consensus Conference on Patient Blood Management (Müller MM et al. JAMA 2019;321:983-97). The conference produced ten clinical recommendations and twelve research statements relating to preoperative anaemia, red blood cell transfusion thresholds and implementation of PBM […]
Incidence, duration, and management of anemia: a nationwide comparison between IBD and non-IBD populations.
This is a large database report of the incidence and duration of anaemia in the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) population over the course of their disease lifetime. The authors conducted a retrospective nationwide cohort study among the US veteran population from 2011 to 2018. The primary outcomes were the incidence of anaemia, the number of […]
Association between perinatal anemia and postpartum depression: A prospective cohort study of Japanese women.
Is there a relationship between anaemia and depression in the postpartum period? Certainly perioperative anaemia has been independently associated with increased morbidity and mortality across many different specialities in surgical and critical care. It has been linked to prolonged hospital length of stay, excessive health resource utilization and reduced disease-free survival. Maternal iron deficiency anaemia […]
Four years’ experience of a ROTEM((R))-guided algorithm for treatment of coagulopathy in obstetric haemorrhage.
This important study by McNamara et al. reports on four years of observational data from a large UK hospital and tertiary referral unit, following the introduction of a rotational thromboelastometry-guided algorithm for treatment of coagulopathy in major obstetric haemorrhage. This was compared to a matched cohort from the year prior when a “shock pack” was […]
Prevalence of, associations with, and prognostic role of anemia in heart failure across the ejection fraction spectrum.
This study aims to establish a reliable prevalence estimate of anaemia in patients with different severities of heart failure (HF), and to identify whether the severity of HF and anaemia predicts either mortality or hospitalization from HF. While data from previous studies has established an association between anaemia and HF, recent European updates to HF […]
