Erythrocyte Transfusion

Erythrocyte transfusion: remedy or poison?

Should we restrict erythrocyte transfusion in early goal directed protocols?

BACKGROUND Early goal-directed therapy has been endorsed in the guidelines of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign as a key strategy among patients presenting with severe sepsis or septic shock. But more importantly, early goal-directed therapy also became standard care for non-septic critically ill patients and was adopted for high-risk surgical patients. DISCUSSION Importantly, transfusion of red ...

TRANSFUSION MEDICINE Nonhemolytic antibody-induced loss of erythrocyte surface antigen

Transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) into patients with anti–donor RBC antibodies (crossmatch-incompatible transfusion) can result in lethal antibody-mediated hemolysis. Less well appreciated is the ability of anti-RBC antibodies to specifically remove their target antigen from donor RBCs without compromising cell survival or adversely affecting the transfusion recipient. In an effort to eluci...

TRANSFUSION MEDICINE Transfer of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins to deficient cells after erythrocyte transfusion in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

In paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), an acquired mutation of the PIGA gene results in the absence of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)–anchored cell surface membrane proteins in affected hematopoietic cells. Absence of GPI-anchored proteins on erythrocytes is responsible for their increased sensitivity to complement-mediated lysis, resulting in hemolytic anemia. Cell-to-cell transfer ...

Individual probability of allogeneic erythrocyte transfusion in elective spine surgery: the predictive model of transfusion in spine surgery.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to generate a score based on preoperative characteristics and predictive of the individual probability of allogeneic erythrocyte transfusion in patients undergoing elective thoracolumbar spine surgery. METHODS Two hundred thirty consecutive patients were retrospectively included over a 15-month period (derivation set). Preoperative independent predictors o...