Transfusion
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
The second Austrian benchmark study for blood use in elective surgery: results and practice change.
Five years after the first Austrian benchmark study demonstrated relatively high transfusion rate and an abundance of nonindicated transfusions in elective surgeries, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of the first benchmark study. ⋯ The second benchmark study demonstrates substantial intercenter variability and small but significant reductions in RBC transfusions and RBC loss. Even though the main independent predictors of transfusion were the relative lost RBC volume followed by the relative preoperative and the lowest relative postoperative hemoglobin, preoperative anemia was not adequately treated in many patients, underscoring the importance of patient blood management in these patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Leukoreduced blood transfusion does not increase circulating soluble markers of inflammation: a randomized controlled trial.
Transfused blood may have immunomodulatory and proinflammatory effects. We report the first randomized study exploring whether leukoreduced red blood cell (RBC) transfusion increases circulating proinflammatory mediators, markers of neutrophil activation, and the acute-phase response in critically ill adults. ⋯ Concentrations of measured biomarkers were not significantly increased during the first 24 hours after leukoreduced RBC transfusion. These data do not support the contention that leukoreduced RBC transfusion is associated with a proinflammatory response in the general adult critically ill population.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Fresh-frozen plasma transfusion did not reduce 30-day mortality in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass cardiac surgery with excessive bleeding: the PLASMACARD multicenter cohort study.
During on-pump cardiac surgery, hemorrhagic complications occur frequently. Fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) is widely transfused to provide coagulation factors. Yet, no randomized clinical trial has demonstrated its benefits on mortality. We assessed the relationship between therapeutic transfusion of FFP and 30-day mortality in cardiac surgery patients suffering from excessive bleeding in a prospective cohort study. ⋯ Among on-pump cardiac surgery patients experiencing excessive perioperative bleeding, there is no evidence of a beneficial impact of FFP transfusion on mortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A multicenter, randomized, active-controlled study to investigate the efficacy and safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose in patients with iron deficiency anemia.
Many patients receiving oral iron for iron deficiency anemia (IDA) cannot tolerate or fail to respond to therapy, and existing intravenous (IV) iron formulations often require repeated administrations. Ferric carboxymaltose (FCM), a nondextran IV formulation, permits larger single doses. ⋯ Two 750-mg FCM infusions are safe and superior to oral iron in increasing Hb levels in IDA patients with inadequate oral iron response.
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Red blood cells (RBCs) undergo changes during storage. Various studies have suggested a higher risk of adverse and often multifactorial clinical outcomes associated with older-stored RBCs. Our aim therefore was to examine if storage of transfused RBCs is also associated with the risk of RBC-specific alloantibody formation. ⋯ Our findings suggest that storage times of transfused RBCs between 1 and 4 weeks do not affect the risk of alloimmunization.