Red blood cell transfusion practice in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

To describe a population of children that received red blood cell transfusions.

A retrospective observational study carried out at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the Instituto da Criança of Hospital das Clínicas of Faculdade de Medicina of Universidade de São Paulo in 2004, with children that received red blood cell transfusions.

Transfusion of red blood cells was performed in 50% of the patients hospitalized. Median age was 18 months, and the primary motive for admission was respiratory insufficiency (35%). Underlying disease was present in 84% of the cases and multiple organ and system dysfunction in 46.2%. The median value of pretransfusion hemoglobin concentration was 7.8 g/dL. Transfused patients were undergoing some form of therapeutic procedure in 82% of the cases.

Red blood cell transfusions are performed at all ages. Hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit rate are the primary data used to indicate these transfusions. The values of arterial serum lactate and SvO2were seldom used. Most patients transfused were submitted to some form of therapeutic procedure, and in many cases, transfusions were carried out in patients with multiple organ and system dysfunctions.