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Tools for rapid analysis of blood usage and inventory during the COVID-19 pandemic
Colin Murphy1, Bryon Jackson1, Magali Fontaine1
1Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a 42% drop in daily blood transfusions, impacting red cells, plasma, and cryoprecipitate. Visualizing blood usage helped adjust ordering practices to prevent waste.
Area of Science:
- Transfusion Medicine
- Health Informatics
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted blood collection and usage.
- Hospital policies implemented during the pandemic influenced blood product consumption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To rapidly visualize the effects of the pandemic and hospital policies on blood usage.
- To inform blood ordering practices and minimize wastage.
Main Methods:
- Utilized laboratory information system data for blood usage analysis.
- Developed an R-based workflow in R Markdown for data analysis and visualization.
- Generated daily reports shared with leadership and stakeholders.
Main Results:
- Mean daily transfusions decreased by 42% during the initial pandemic phase.
- Significant declines observed in red cell, plasma, and cryoprecipitate usage.
- Outpatient transfusions remained stable while general operating room usage dropped substantially.
Conclusions:
- Data visualization revealed nearly a 50% reduction in overall blood usage during policy changes.
- Identified decreased usage in the general operating room post-elective procedure cancellations.
- Informed adjustments to standing product orders based on visualized usage trends.
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic caused downtrends in both blood collections and blood usage. Rapidly visualizing the impact of the pandemic and newly implemented hospital policies on usage could potentially inform blood ordering practices to help avoid wastage.
Study Design And Methods:
Blood usage data were obtained from the laboratory information system. An R-based workflow was written in R Markdown for analysis and visualization. Reports were generated daily and shared with blood bank leadership. Selected reports were shared with institutional leadership, other departments, and collaborating blood suppliers.
Results:
Mean daily transfusions dropped 42% from 3/9-13 to 3/16-20, with a significant decrease in usage of red cells, plasma, and cryoprecipitate. The greatest decline in use was seen in the general operating rooms, whereas outpatient transfusions remained steady. Weekly total blood usage decreased through the end of March into April and returned to normal levels in May.
Conclusion:
During two 5-weekday periods of changing hospital policies, overall blood usage decreased by almost half. Visualization of usage by hospital location showed a large decrease in general operating room usage after cancellation of elective procedures. This data visualization has informed decisions to modify standing product orders during an initial period of decreased usage as well as return to normal orders in later months.
