[Acute lung injury related to blood transfusion]

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a second most serious complication of the blood transfusion. It is a group of symptoms and signs such as dyspnoea, hypotension, cyanosis, cough, elevated temperature, fever and lung oedema that usually develops within an hour or two after transfusion. The full stage clinical presentation is developed between 4th and 6th hours after transfusion. The syndrome is caused by leucoagglutinins or by other lymphocytotoxic antibodies specific for some antigens present on the donor's leukocytes. Alveoles of the lung are the main place of the pathological changes such as intra-alveolar oedema, haemorrhage, hyaline membrane formation, alveolar cell hypertrophy and scant interstitial inflammation. Chest X-ray showed bilateral pulmonary infiltrates but without vascular congestion and with normal cardiac silhouette comparing to the status before transfusion. The syndrome has to be distinquished from pulmonary oedema caused by acute cardial insufficiency, overhydration, trauma and sepsis.