title: Determination of red-cell mass in assessment and management of anaemia in babies needing blood transfusion.
abstract: A new method for the rapid determination of red-blood-cell mass (RCM) in infants needing blood transfusion is described. RCM is estimated from the fall in the baby's fetal haemoglobin level resulting from transfusion of a known mass of adult-haemoglobin-containing red cells. In severe blood loss and refractory anaemias in preterm infants, in addition to the red-cell deficit, the plasma volume is low, leading to a falsely high haematocrit of about 0.30, which conceals a deficiency of 50-70% in circulating red cells. Red-cell transfusion in such infants based on haematocrit often fails to restore RCM to normal, leading to repeated transfusions. The frequency of transfusions may be reduced by giving enough red cells fully to correct the deficiency based on RCM estimation.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdel-Moiz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fayed
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Wardrop
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cockburn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D000751:Anemia, Neonatal / Q000628:therapy; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D001810:Blood Volume; D001835:Body Weight; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D004911:Erythrocyte Volume; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D010953:Plasma Volume
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins