Transfusion
-
Coagulopathy after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is frequent and represents a powerful predictor related to outcome and prognosis. The complex pathophysiological mechanisms of the coagulopathy of TBI are multifactorial and remain still undefined. The nature of the coagulation abnormalities differs between severe TBI and non-TBI with somatic injuries. ⋯ Hemocoagulative disorders after TBI may be amenable to treatment, and adequate and timely management may protect from secondary injury and poor outcomes. Functional assays such as viscoelastic tests may be supportive in early detection, diagnosis, and guidance of treatment. This review summarizes the current understanding with regard to frequency, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of the coagulopathy after TBI.
-
Pulse oximetry is routinely used to measure hemoglobin saturation and is currently the gold standard to assess oxygenation in patients. Due to attenuation of infrared light by skin, bone, and other organs, pulse oximetry cannot assess end-organ tissue oxygenation (StO(2)). Near infrared spectroscopy (NIS) penetrates a broad range of tissues and utilizes reflection rather than direct transmission between an emitter and receiver pair. NIS is able to measure StO(2) and assess end-organ perfusion in a variety of applications. ⋯ StO(2) measurements have been used to guide resuscitation efforts in trauma patients. This technology and its applications continue to evolve and represent a novel change in patient care.
-
Critically bleeding trauma patients require coordinated and efficient decision-making processes to ensure optimal management of their massive transfusion (MT) requirements. Human factors (HFs) is a discipline that investigates factors influencing work processes from the organizational, group, and individual levels. Given the complexity of trauma resuscitation, implementing any intervention for decision support in MT is challenging and may benefit from a HFs-assisted approach. ⋯ Based on the identified reports, this review provides a HFs-assisted approach to aid clinicians and policy makers with the implementation of decision support for MT in the trauma care setting.
-
The clinical use of frozen plasma (FP) continues to increase, both in prophylactic and in therapeutic settings. In 2004, a systematic review of all published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) revealed a lack of evidence that supported the efficacy of FP use. This is an update that includes all new RCTs published since the original review. ⋯ Combined with the 2004 review, 80 RCTs have investigated FP with no consistent evidence of significant benefit for prophylactic and therapeutic use across a range of indications evaluated. There has been little improvement in the overall methodologic quality of RCTs conducted in the past few years.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Transfusion of older stored blood and risk of death: a meta-analysis.
Blood for transfusion is stored for up to 42 days. Older blood develops lesions and accumulates potentially injurious substances. Some studies report increasing toxicity as blood ages. We assessed the safety of transfused older versus newer stored blood. ⋯ Based on available data, use of older stored blood is associated with a significantly increased risk of death.