Clinical Analysis of Non-blood Transfusion Management in our Emergency Department

Park, Chang Min; Chung, Jun Young

Abstract

PURPOSE: The number of patients who refuse blood transfusion is increasing for not only religious reasons but also non-religious reasons. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of non-blood transfusion and to help the management of patients who want a non-blood transfusion.
METHODS
We have studied on the case of 95 who refused blood transfusion. They visited the emergency department in Dong-A University Medical Center from November 2004 to July 2006, and these were reviewed retrospectively. We investigated sex, age, diagnosis, hemoglobin/hematocrit (Hb/Hct) level, the histories of transfusion. They were assigned to two groups according to the necessity of the blood transfusion. We analyzed differences in the average of Hb/Hct level, the histories of operation, numbers of nonblood transfusion, hospital stay, outcomes.
RESULTS
The patients consisted of 40 males and 55 females. the most dominant ages of the patients were in the seventies (21 patients). A blood transfusion was considered to be necessary for 17 patients (17.9%). Nobody practically received a blood transfusion. Out of those 17 patients, the average of Hb/Hct level was 5.4 g/dL and 16.7% respectively. In addition, 9 patients (52.9%) were operated, 2 (11.8%) died, and all of the 17 patients recevied the non-blood transfusion.
CONCLUSION
The treatment of patients who want non-blood transfusion management involves important medical considerations to decrease the risk of transfusion, to improve patient outcome. The development of appropriate non-blood transfusion strategies is increasingly important, and more studies are needed to define their role by controlled clinical trials.