Update for nurse anesthetists--part 5--Transfusion-related acute lung injury

Acute onset of dyspnea, fever, hypotension, and cough during or soon after a blood or blood-product transfusion has been described in the literature since the early 1950s. Between 2003 and 2005, transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) surpassed ABO incompatibility as the number one cause of transfusion-related mortality in the United States, as reported to the Food and Drug Administration. Prompt recognition and appropriate intervention are required to reduce mortality. Prevention of TRALI represents a complex challenge. There is no single intervention that will prevent every case of TRALI, but several interventions have been proposed to reduce the risk.