Monitoring the Impact of Quality Interventions to Improve Bedside Transfusion Practices at a Quaternary Care Hospital...

To ensure the safety of the blood supply, appropriate bedside transfusion policies must be in place to evaluate, monitor, and manage risk along the entire blood supply chain. The transfusion feedback audit aims to enhance patient care and outcomes through the regular review of the use of transfused blood components and bed side transfusion practices against transfusion guidelines. This study was planned to assess the impact of safety interventions on bedside transfusion monitoring and practices. This was an interventional observational study conducted in the department of transfusion medicine (DTM) at a quaternary care center in south India. The study had two phases: Pre-implementation (phase I) and post implementation (phase II) after safety intervention implementation. All the transfusion feedbacks received at DTM were analyzed in terms of location, turnaround times (TAT), delayed transfusions, and extended transfusions which were used as a tool for quality improvement. Over the study period, a total of 35,571 (1-4 components per episode) transfusion episodes were analyzed. The mean overall number of transfusion feedbacks showed a significant (p < 0.005) improvement in the number of feedbacks received in phase II (97%) compared to phase I (83%), as well as in the rate of incomplete documentation. The number of delayed and extended transfusions also showed a significant reduction in the post-implementation phase II (p < 0.005). Quality and safety interventions play a crucial role in reducing turnaround times, ensuring timely transfusions, and improving staff compliance in bedside transfusion care. These interventions, when implemented effectively, lead to better patient monitoring and care, instilling confidence in the healthcare system.

The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12288-025-02253-y.