Pediatrics
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Reduction in red blood cell transfusions among preterm infants: results of a randomized trial with an in-line blood gas and chemistry monitor.
Critically ill, extremely premature infants develop anemia because of intensive laboratory blood testing and undergo multiple red blood cell (RBC) transfusions in the early weeks of life. To date, researchers have had only limited success in finding ways to reduce transfusions significantly in this patient population. ⋯ As long as an umbilical artery catheter is available for blood sampling with an in-line blood gas and chemistry monitor, significant reductions in neonatal RBC transfusions can be achieved. The patients most likely to benefit from monitor use are the smallest, most critically ill newborns.