FRESH FROZEN PLASMA

Fresh frozen plasma induced thrombocytopenia

Transfusions of blood products are common in medical practice and can be lifesaving in certain situations. Potentially life threatening reactions could occur and physicians should be alerted. Here we describe a case of thrombocytopenia that was induced by transfusion of fresh frozen plasma (FFP). A 52 years old male presented to the emergency department after two episodes of hematochezia that r...

Avoiding the misuse of fresh frozen plasma.

Fresh-frozen plasma use in a South African tertiary hospital.

Despite available guidelines on indications for fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) transfusion, inappropriate use is increasing worldwide. We evaluated FFP administration to patients admitted to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital over 4 months, including indications for use and completeness of requisition forms. Transfusions were considered inappropriate for 39.5% of units administered. Of request forms s...

Prothrombin Complex Concentrates: An Alternative to Fresh Frozen Plasma.

Insufficiency fractures are a common cause of morbidity among geriatric patients worldwide. Improved outcomes are known to result from decreased delay to definitive operative fixation and mobilization. Use of warfarin is an important potential cause of delay. The ideal mode of warfarin reversal is currently unknown. Prothrombin complex concentrates (PCCs) offer rapid correction with small infus...

Inappropriateness of fresh frozen plasma for abnormal coagulation tests.

BACKGROUND There is increasing evidence to suggest that the use of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) as a prophylaxis to bleeding is ineffective. However, a high proportion of FFP transfusions still occur in non-bleeding patients despite the high risk of adverse events. The aim of the study was to assess compliance with current prophylactic FFP guidelines at a large tertiary centre. METHODS Data were...