Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients undergoing transfusion

Características clínicas y epidemiológicas de pacientes sometidos a transfusión

Introduction: blood products transfusions are a common practice, particularly in multiple life-threatening situations. Its usefulness is based on three aspects, that is, being beneficial for patients, improving circulatory volume, rheology and oxygen transport. Objective: to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients who underwent transfusions in two high complexity institutions in Medellín, Colombia. Methodology: a descriptive, retrospective cross-sectional, observational study including patients who required blood products transfusion. The source of information was a review of medical records. The JAMOVI program was used for analysis, estimating univariate absolute and relative frequencies, median and interquartile ranges. Results: 458 clinical records were included, with female predominance 60.7% (278), and median age of 49 years. The main reason for the transfusion was hemorrhage classified as non-massive and non- obstetric in 25% (114/458), followed by obstetric hemorrhage in 24% (108/458) and 19% (87/458) were conducted in the context of resuscitation. Thirteen percent (13%) were performed for therapeutic apheresis and transfusion related adverse effects were identified in only 0.7% of patients. Discussion: the main objective of blood products transfusion is optimizing patient´s hemodynamic status. In this study the mean hemoglobin results increased 1.6 g/dL, after the first transfusion, in contrast with other reports in which the increase was lower. The main reason for the transfusion was non-massive and non-obstetric hemorrhage in 25%. Transfusion practices and patient profiles are consistent with those reported in prior research studies. Conclusion: blood products transfusion is a common procedure in clinical practice, in situations such as anemia and hemorrhage syndromes. It is indicated if the benefits outweigh the risk. This study is limited by its retrospective nature, which conditions information access and do not allow result extrapolation to a broader population.