RBC Transfusion Triggers: Is There Anything New? - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

. 2020 Oct;47(5):361-368.

doi: 10.1159/000511229. Epub 2020 Sep 24.

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Review

RBC Transfusion Triggers: Is There Anything New?

Tina Tomic Mahecic et al. Transfus Med Hemother. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

For many years, in daily clinical practice, the traditional 10/30 rule (hemoglobin 10 g/dL - hematocrit 30%) has been the most commonly used trigger for blood transfusions. Over the years, this approach is believed to have contributed to a countless number of unnecessary transfusions and an unknown number of overtransfusion-related deaths. Recent studies have shown that lower hemoglobin levels can safely be accepted, even in critically ill patients. However, even these new transfusion thresholds are far beyond the theoretical limits of individual anemia tolerance. For this reason, almost all publications addressing the limits of acute anemia recommend physiological transfusion triggers to indicate the transfusion of erythrocyte concentrates as an alternative. Although this concept appears intuitive at first glance, no solid scientific evidence supports the safety and benefit of physiological transfusion triggers to indicate the optimal time point for transfusion of allogeneic blood. It is therefore imperative to continue searching for the most sensitive and specific parameters that can guide the clinician when to transfuse in order to avoid anemia-induced organ dysfunction while avoiding overtransfusion-related adverse effects. This narrative review discusses the concept of anemia tolerance and critically compares hemoglobin-based triggers with physiological transfusion for various clinical indications.

Keywords: Anemia tolerance; Limits of anemia; Physiological transfusion trigger; Transfusion threshold.

Copyright © 2020 by S. Karger AG, Basel.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1

Fig. 1

Hypothetical hierarchy of transfusion triggers. Physiological transfusion triggers are shaded in gray highlighting their low sensitivity and specificity to predict the need for RBC transfusion. DO2, systemic oxygen delivery; ECG, electrocardiogram; NIRS, near-infrared spectroscopy; ScvO2, central venous oxygen saturation; SvO2, mixed venous oxygen saturation.

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