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Risk of infection from Blood transfusions
- We are already moving to decreasing transfusions in general for most of our hospital patients
- But now there is evidence that more transfusions can lead to an increase in nosocomial infections
JAMA Meta-Analysis
- 18 randomized trials with 7,593 patients
- All tested higher vs lower transfusion thresholds in a variety of inpatient settings
- Hospital-acquired infections were the outcome
What they found
- Absolute risk for nosocomial infection was 17% among patients with a higher hemoglobin target compared to 12% with a lower target
- NNT to avoid an infection was 38 using a restrictive transfusion strategy
Bottom Line
- Potential cost savings to the healthcare industry with less transfusions
- For most patients, a hemoglobin > 7 g/dL is just fine
References
Rohde J, et al. Health Care Associated Infection after Red Blood Cell Transfusion. A systematic Review adn Meta-Analysis. JAMA 2014; 311(13): 1317-1326.