Clinical Anesthesia Procedures
Transfusion Therapy - The Decision to Initiate Transfusion Therapy
To view the entire topic, please sign in or purchase a subscription.
Anesthesia Central is an all-in-one web and mobile solution for treating patients before, during, and after surgery. This collection of drugs, procedures, and test information is derived from Davis’s Drug, MGH Clinical Anesthesia Procedures, Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests, and PRIME Journals. Explore these free sample topics:
-- The first section of this topic is shown below --
The decision to transfuse is complicated. There are many risks to transfusion, and transfusion is ultimately indicated when the potential benefits outweigh these risks. In most civilian settings, transfusion therapy utilized blood components rather than whole blood. The benefits of blood component transfusion stem from the correction of conditions that result in decreased production; increased utilization, destruction, or loss; or dysfunction of a specific blood component (red cells, platelets, or coagulation factors). Although many attempts at creating universal transfusion protocols have been introduced, few have successfully demonstrated definitive thresholds or clear superiority. Our aim in this chapter is to provide the background to help make these decisions on an individual basis.
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please sign in or purchase a subscription --
The decision to transfuse is complicated. There are many risks to transfusion, and transfusion is ultimately indicated when the potential benefits outweigh these risks. In most civilian settings, transfusion therapy utilized blood components rather than whole blood. The benefits of blood component transfusion stem from the correction of conditions that result in decreased production; increased utilization, destruction, or loss; or dysfunction of a specific blood component (red cells, platelets, or coagulation factors). Although many attempts at creating universal transfusion protocols have been introduced, few have successfully demonstrated definitive thresholds or clear superiority. Our aim in this chapter is to provide the background to help make these decisions on an individual basis.
There's more to see -- the rest of this entry is available only to subscribers.
