Perioperative red blood cell transfusion for patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery: an audit at a Chinese tertiary hospital

Chiu-Wen Chou; Rongrong Xu; Lu Yang; Wenqi Huang

doi:10.1016/j.transci.2014.08.012

Perioperative red blood cell transfusion for patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery: an audit at a Chinese tertiary hospital

Transfus Apher Sci. 2014 Dec;51(3):99-103. doi: 10.1016/j.transci.2014.08.012. Epub 2014 Aug 19.

Authors

Chiu-Wen Chou¹, Rongrong Xu², Lu Yang², Wenqi Huang²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: chiuwen.chou@gmail.com.
² Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

PMID: 25189106
DOI: 10.1016/j.transci.2014.08.012

Abstract

Perioperative blood transfusion still takes a large proportion in inappropriate blood transfusion. As the data are limited in China, we reported a perioperative red blood cell (RBC) transfusion practices in a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, China. In 2008-2009, patients who underwent elective surgeries receiving RBC transfusions were recorded and the rate of overtransfusion was analyzed. Overtransfusion was defined as discharge hemoglobin (Hb) exceeding 10 g/dL. The median amount of RBC transfused perioperatively was four units in all 2572 patients. The overall rate of overtransfusion was 48.6% and the Department of Neurosurgery had the highest overtransfusion rate. These results are of great use for the future management of blood resource.

Keywords: RBC transfusion; Transfusion practices.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
China
Elective Surgical Procedures*
Erythrocyte Transfusion*
Female
Humans
Male
Medical Audit*
Middle Aged
Perioperative Care / methods*
Retrospective Studies
Tertiary Care Centers