BACKGROUND

Intraoperative transfusion for gynecologic surgery, when appropriately used, can improve patient outcomes. However, when utilized incorrectly, blood transfusion can worsen patient outcomes and increase patient cost. This study aimed to evaluate the blood transfusion practices of tertiary hospitals in the Philippines.

The study utilized a cross-sectional design wherein prospective data were gathered through multiple sources across seven tertiary-level hospitals. Women admitted to undergo gynecologic surgery were recruited based on a set of criteria. A chart review was conducted, and blood utilization indices were calculated. Outcomes were compared between public versus private facilities and transfused versus nontransfused patients.

Among 514 patients, 79.7% underwent cross-matching and 75.1% received transfusions. Adverse events were rare, with no transfusion-related deaths. The overall crossmatch-to-transfusion ratio (C/T ratio) was 2.8, exceeding the 2.5 optimal benchmark; all public hospitals recorded a C/T ratio >2.5, whereas private centers had more efficient usage. Six hospitals met acceptable benchmarks for transfusion probability and transfusion index. Open abdominal procedures, particularly hysterectomy, accounted for the most blood used. Transfused patients had longer operative times, greater blood loss, lower preoperative hemoglobin, and more frequently involved resident physicians in training. Public hospitals recorded higher cross-match and transfusion rates, greater resident physician participation, and broader use of general anesthesia.

Results of the study highlight the importance of monitoring blood transfusion parameters to optimize blood utilization. The observed differences between public and private institutions in the country highlight the urgent need for standardized and evidence-based practice to ensure efficient transfusion protocols nationwide.

BACKGROUND

Pre-transfusion testing is done to avoid transfusion morbidity from unexpected RBC antibodies. Available commercial kits from Western brands may not consider racial differences in antibody frequencies between East/Southeast Asians and Western populations. The limited number of blood banks in the Philippines precludes research on RBC antibody screening and identification in the country.

This study aimed to compare RBC antibody screening and identification methods in patients at a tertiary hospital in the Philippines, assess the frequency of major blood group antibodies using both techniques, and review clinical histories of discrepant and nonspecific cases.

Retrospective review showed 118 cases with both screening and identification tests using both conventional tube-based technique and column agglutination or gel-based technique. Antibody frequencies and discrepant or nonspecific results were recorded. Concordance rates were calculated, and differences between the two methods were analyzed using 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Clinical histories of discrepant and nonspecific cases were also reviewed.

The most frequent major blood group was Rh (41 cases or 34.7%), followed by MNS (34 cases or 28.8%) and Kidd (15 cases or 12.7%). The most common antibody was Anti-E (24 cases or 20.3%), followed by Anti-Mia (19 cases or 16.1%), and Anti-M and Anti-c (12 cases each, or 10.2% each). The concordance rate for screening was statistically significant at 72%. Concordance rate for identification was 59.3%, with significant difference in identifying Anti-Mia. Clinical histories for discrepant or nonspecific cases showed previous transfusions, pregnancy, lymphoproliferative conditions, and certain medications.

Statistically significant differences between the two methods were found, with the gel-based technique identifying more Anti-Mia cases. Negative results from the tube-based method do not fully exclude Anti-Mia. These discrepancies highlight the benefit of using both methods for comprehensive RBC antibody screening and identification, done as a complement to the other.

OBJECTIVES: To study the role of plasma exchange combined with continuous blood purification in the treatment of refractory Kawasaki disease shock syndrome (KDSS). METHODS: A total of 35 children with KDSS who were hospitalized in the Department of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Hunan Children's Hospital, from January 2019 to August 2022 were included as subjects. According to whether plasma exchange combined with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration dialysis was performed, they were divided into a purification group with 12 patients and a conventional group with 23 patients. The two groups were compared in terms of clinical data, laboratory markers, and prognosis. RESULTS: Compared with the conventional group, the purification group had significantly shorter time to recovery from shock and length of hospital stay in the pediatric intensive care unit, as well as a significantly lower number of organs involved during the course of the disease (P<0.05). After treatment, the purification group had significant reductions in the levels of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, heparin-binding protein, and brain natriuretic peptide (P<0.05), while the conventional group had significant increases in these indices after treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, the children in the purification group tended to have reductions in stroke volume variation, thoracic fluid content, and systemic vascular resistance and an increase in cardiac output over the time of treatment. CONCLUSIONS Plasma exchange combined with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration dialysis for the treatment of KDSS can alleviate inflammation, maintain fluid balance inside and outside blood vessels, and shorten the course of disease, the duration of shock and the length of hospital stay in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Humans ; Child ; Plasma Exchange ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/therapy* ; Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy ; Renal Dialysis ; Plasmapheresis ; Shock

OBJECTIVE: To establish the diagnostic process of low titer blood group antibody in the occurrence of adverse reactions of hemolytic transfusion. METHODS: Acid elusion test, enzyme method and PEG method were used for antibody identification. Combined with the patient's clinical symptoms and relevant inspection indexes, the irregular antibodies leading to hemolysis were detected. RESULTS: The patient's irregular antibody screening was positive, and it was determined that there was anti-Le^a antibody in the serum. After the transfusion reaction, the low titer anti-E antibody was detected by enhanced test. The patient's Rh typing was Ccee, while the transfused red blood cells were ccEE. The new and old samples of the patient were matched with the transfused red blood cells by PEG method, and the major were incompatible. The evidence of hemolytic transfusion reaction was found. CONCLUSION Antibodies with low titer in serum are not easy to be detected, which often lead to severe hemolytic transfusion reaction.
Humans ; Blood Transfusion ; Transfusion Reaction/prevention & control* ; Hemolysis ; Blood Group Antigens ; Erythrocyte Transfusion ; Antibodies ; Isoantibodies ; Blood Group Incompatibility

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the causes of ineffectiveness of platelet transfusion with monoclonal antibody solid phase platelet antibody test (MASPAT) matching in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and explore the strategies of platelet transfusion. METHODS: A case of donor-specific HLA antibodies (DSA) induced by transfusion which ultimately resulted in transplantation failure and ineffective platelet transfusion with MASPAT matching was selected, and the causes of ineffective platelet transfusion and platelet transfusion strategy were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The 32-year-old female patient was diagnosed as acute myeloid leukemia (high risk) in another hospital with the main symptoms of fever and leukopenia, who should be admitted for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after remission by chemotherapy. In the course of chemotherapy, DSA was generated due to platelet transfusion, and had HLA gene loci incompatible with the donor of the first transplant, leading to the failure of the first transplant. The patient received platelet transfusion for several times before and after transplantation, and the results showed that the effective rate of MASPAT matched platelet transfusion was only 35.3%. Further analysis showed that the reason for the ineffective platelet transfusion was due to the missed detection of antibodies by MASPAT method. During the second hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the DSA-negative donor was selected, and the matching platelets but ineffective transfusion during the primary transplantation were avoided. Finally, the patient was successfully transplanted and discharged from hospital. CONCLUSIONS DSA can cause graft failure or render the graft ineffective. For the platelet transfusion of patients with DSA, the platelet transfusion strategy with matching type only using MASPAT method will miss the detection of antibodies, resulting in invalid platelet transfusion.
Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Platelet Transfusion ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Retrospective Studies ; HLA Antigens ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the standard of care for the treatment of renal stones >2cm and staghorn calculi. This minimally invasive procedure however has intraoperative hemorrhage as one of its most dreaded complications. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the rate of hemorrhage and transfusion requirements among patients undergoing either PCNL or open stone surgery (OSS). METHODS: This was a retrospective study conducted at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute Medical Records Department. Data were collected for the period of January 2018 to December 2019. RESULTS: One hundred forty cases were included, 102 patients in the PCNL group and 38 in the OSS. The mean age 50.84±11.89 vs. 50.50±10.09 with male to female ratio of 1.2:1 for PCNL and open surgery, respectively. The most common comorbidity was hypertension (89, 63.6%). As regards stone size, majority had >4 cm stone size (61; 43.9%). In PCNL, there was no significant change noted in the hemoglobin (14.69±13.3 vs 12.03±1.91, p= 0.099) as compared to OSS, where there was significant decline (12.77±2.64 vs. 11.06±2.52; = .000. The number of packed red cell units for transfusion was also significantly higher in OSS compared to PCNL group (.526±.861 vs. 159±.502, p .020.) CONCLUSION In the treatment of staghorn calculi, PCNL incurs less blood loss and lower transfusion requirements compared to open stone surgery.
percutaneous nephrolithotomy ; blood transfusion ; hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of irregular blood group antibodies in patients with malignant tumors, and to analyze the relationship between it and efficacy of blood transfusion in patients. METHODS: 5 600 patients with malignant tumors treated in Shanxi Bethune Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were selected as the research subjects. All patients received blood transfusion, and cross matching test was conducted before blood transfusion, irregular antibody results of patients were tested; the irregular distribution of blood group antibodies was observed, and the relationship between it and efficacy of blood transfusion in patients was analyzed. RESULTS: Among 5 600 patients with malignant tumors, 96 cases were positive for irregular antibody, and the positive rate was 1.71%; the main blood group systems involved in the irregular antibody positive of 96 patients with malignant tumors were RH, MNSs and Duffy system, among which Rh blood group was the most common, and the proportion of anti-E was the highest; among the malignant tumor patients with positive blood group irregular antibody, the proportion of female was higher than that of male; the proportion of patients aged >60 years was the highest, followed by patients aged >40 and ≤50 years, and the proportion of patients aged 18-30 years was the lowest; the patients with positive blood group irregular antibody were mainly in blood system (including lymphoma), digestive system, reproductive and urinary system; the positive rate of irregular antibody of patients in the ineffective group was higher than that of patients in the effective group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis results showed that, irregular antibody positive was a risk factor for ineffective blood transfusion in patients with malignant tumor (OR>1, P<0.05). CONCLUSION The irregular blood group antibody positive of patients with malignant tumor are mostly female, and the proportion of patients aged >60 is the highest, which is mainly distributed in malignant tumors of blood system, digestive system and urogenital system, and the positive blood group irregular antibody is related to the efficacy of blood transfusion in patients.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Blood Transfusion ; Blood Group Antigens ; Rh-Hr Blood-Group System ; Antibodies ; Neoplasms/therapy* ; Isoantibodies

Objective: To report the clinical manifestations and laboratory features of five patients with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (cTTP) and explore its standardized clinical diagnosis and treatment along with a review of literature. Methods: Clinical data of patients, such as age of onset, disease manifestation, personal history, family history, and misdiagnosed disease, were collected. Treatment outcomes, therapeutic effects of plasma infusion, and organ function evaluation were observed. The relationship among the clinical manifestations, treatment outcomes, and ADAMTS13 gene mutation of patients with cTTP was analyzed. Additionally, detection of ADAMTS13 activity and analysis of ADAMTS13 gene mutation were explored. Results: The age of onset of cTTP was either in childhood or adulthood except in one case, which was at the age of 1. The primary manifestations were obvious thrombocytopenia, anemia, and different degrees of nervous system involvement. Most of the patients were initially suspected of having immune thrombocytopenia. Acute cTTP was induced by pregnancy and infection in two and one case, respectively. ADAMTS13 gene mutation was detected in all cases, and there was an inherent relationship between the mutation site, clinical manifestations, and degree of organ injury. Therapeutic or prophylactic plasma transfusion was effective for treating cTTP. Conclusions: The clinical manifestations of cTTP vary among individuals, resulting in frequent misdiagnosis that delays treatment. ADAMTS13 activity detection in plasma and ADAMTS13 gene mutation analysis are important bases to diagnose cTTP. Prophylactic plasma transfusion is vital to prevent the onset of the disease.
Female ; Pregnancy ; Humans ; Adult ; Blood Component Transfusion ; Plasma ; Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic/therapy* ; Mutation ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; ADAMTS13 Protein/therapeutic use*

Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Blood Transfusion ; Infant, Premature, Diseases

BACKGROUND: Red-cell transfusion is critical for surgery during the peri-operative period; however, the transfusion threshold remains controversial mainly owing to the diversity among patients. The patient's medical status should be evaluated before making a transfusion decision. Herein, we developed an individualized transfusion strategy using the West-China-Liu's Score based on the physiology of oxygen delivery/consumption balance and designed an open-label, multicenter, randomized clinical trial to verify whether it reduced red cell requirement as compared with that associated with restrictive and liberal strategies safely and effectively, providing valid evidence for peri-operative transfusion. METHODS: Patients aged >14 years undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery with estimated blood loss > 1000 mL or 20% blood volume and hemoglobin concentration <10 g/dL were randomly assigned to an individualized strategy, a restrictive strategy following China's guideline or a liberal strategy with a transfusion threshold of hemoglobin concentration <9.5 g/dL. We evaluated two primary outcomes: the proportion of patients who received red blood cells (superiority test) and a composite of in-hospital complications and all-cause mortality by day 30 (non-inferiority test). RESULTS: We enrolled 1182 patients: 379, 419, and 384 received individualized, restrictive, and liberal strategies, respectively. Approximately 30.6% (116/379) of patients in the individualized strategy received a red-cell transfusion, less than 62.5% (262/419) in the restrictive strategy (absolute risk difference, 31.92%; 97.5% confidence interval [CI]: 24.42-39.42%; odds ratio, 3.78%; 97.5% CI: 2.70-5.30%; P <0.001), and 89.8% (345/384) in the liberal strategy (absolute risk difference, 59.24%; 97.5% CI: 52.91-65.57%; odds ratio, 20.06; 97.5% CI: 12.74-31.57; P <0.001). No statistically significant differences were found in the composite of in-hospital complications and mortality by day 30 among the three strategies. CONCLUSION: The individualized red-cell transfusion strategy using the West-China-Liu's Score reduced red-cell transfusion without increasing in-hospital complications and mortality by day 30 when compared with restrictive and liberal strategies in elective non-cardiac surgeries. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01597232.
Humans ; Adult ; Postoperative Complications ; Erythrocyte Transfusion/adverse effects* ; Blood Transfusion ; Hospitals ; Hemoglobins/analysis*