Restrictive transfusion strategy after cardiac surgery.
Zeroual and colleagues report the results of a single-centre, single-blinded randomised controlled study of cardiac surgery patients comparing two strategies for transfusion of red blood cells. The control group followed […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Transfusion practice in the non-bleeding critically ill: an international online survey-the TRACE survey.
In order to elucidate whether data from transfusion trials has impacted current intensive care transfusion management, de Bruin and colleagues performed an online, anonymous, worldwide survey among ICU physicians, evaluating […]
Association of blood component ratios with 24-hour mortality in injured children receiving massive transfusion.
While the incidence of paediatric trauma requiring massive transfusion is lower than the incidence in adults, little is known regarding the optimal transfusion strategy in the paediatric population. Although optimal […]
Impact of a Patient Blood Management monitoring and feedback programme on allogeneic blood transfusions and related costs.
While Patient Blood Management (PBM) is becoming a new standard worldwide with evidence-based and expert consensus guidelines to promote the three PBM pillars, measuring the performance of these efforts remains […]
Intra-operative red blood cell transfusion and mortality after cardiac surgery.
Many studies have shown an association between transfusion and adverse events, including short- and long-term mortality, in cardiac surgery. In this study, the authors aimed to investigate this association in […]
Multimodal patient blood management program based on a three-pillar strategy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
This systematic review and meta-analysis focused on the implementation of a comprehensive PBM approach. Studies included had to address at least one recognised PBM modality per pillar. Data for 235,779 surgical […]
Randomized trial of platelet-transfusion thresholds in neonates.
In this multicentre trial, infants born at less than 34 weeks of gestation and in whom severe thrombocytopenia was detected were randomised to receive a platelet transfusion at a platelet count […]
Six-month outcomes after restrictive or liberal transfusion for cardiac surgery.
In this follow-up article to the TRICS III trial, the authors report the clinical outcomes of moderate- to high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass at 6 months after the […]
Association of perioperative red blood cell transfusions with venous thromboembolism in a North American registry.
An association between red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and increased incidence of perioperative complications has been highlighted in a large number of prospective and restrospective studies. In the study published […]
Contemporary risk factors and outcomes of transfusion-associated circulatory overload.
Recently, a joint working group of members of the International Haemovigilance Network, the International Society of Blood Transfusion and AABB concluded that it is too early to develop a consensus […]