Patient Blood Management in Hematology: Focusing on Platelet Transfusion

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Transfusion Medicine
• Patient Blood Management

Background:

• Unnecessary platelet transfusions pose risks and increase healthcare costs.
• Physician adherence to current platelet transfusion guidelines is often low.
• Patient blood management (PBM) strategies aim to optimize transfusion practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a PBM strategy for platelet transfusions in hematology patients.
• To assess the impact of the strategy on platelet transfusion activity and appropriateness.
• To reduce transfusion burden and improve patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Development of a specific platelet transfusion guideline for hematology patients.
• Auditing platelet transfusion activity before and after guideline implementation.
• Review of platelet transfusion activity and adverse events from 2021 to 2025.

Main Results:

• Annual platelet transfusions decreased by 14% post-intervention.
• Platelet transfusions reduced by 15.6% in hospitalized and 34.5% in outpatients.
• Adverse events related to platelet transfusion decreased from 51 to 35 cases.

Conclusions:

• PBM strategies focused on platelets enable more rational and standardized transfusion use.
• Establishing evidence-based transfusion thresholds and auditing adherence are crucial.
• Further research into platelet transfusion practices is essential due to limited evidence.