The Lebanese national patient blood management guidelines: A new page in the medical practice

Patient blood management (PBM) is a patient-centered, systematic, evidence-based approach to improve patient outcomes by managing and preserving a patient's own blood, while promoting patient safety and empowerment. Globally, PBM guidelines have been developed locally in several countries and societies based on the expertise and resources of each. In Lebanon, the presence of prevalent iron deficiency anemia and hemoglobinopathies, together with scarce resources and economic constraints, necessitate generating local PBM guidelines to improve outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and safety. The following guidelines were established based on the recommendations of a multidisciplinary taskforce committee of Lebanese experts from different medical specialties including hematology, obstetrics, gynecology, surgery, anesthesiology, critical care, and pediatrics. The recommendations provide key practice points for the optimization of red blood mass, minimization of blood loss, and optimization of tolerance to anemia in different settings, supported by evidence from international guidelines in the field of PBM.