[Hospital use of fresh frozen plasma].
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this work is double. On the one hand, to assess if the measures to strictly control the clinical indications of fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) transfusion may lead to a decrease of its use, and on the other to assess the importance of FFP with regard to other blood components, along with disclosing the number and characteristics of the more patients and those who receive only FFP.


METHODS
Starting from data of the blood bank and the hospital records, an analysis of the use of FFP in the General Hospital was carried out, and it was correlated with the use of other blood components, mostly red cells (RC), and the hospital indices expressed as DRG. An analysis was also performed of the use of FFP in 1996 with regard to the number of transfused patients, mean consumed units in general and according to patient-groups, association with RC use and identification of high-use patients (defined as requiring over 3 FFP units).


RESULTS
A decrease in the use of FFP between 1992 and 1996 was appreciated, from 1,385 to 760 units. This decrease, when correlated with the use of RC, was from 17.8 to 9.2 FFP units/ 100 RC units during this period. The FFP units/100 RC units varied from 6 to 2 in three years; this index has been stable since then. With regard to the use in 1996, 162 patients received FFP, which represents 4% of all the transfusions in the hospital. Of these, 15 patients received only plasma (9% of the patients receiving FFP and 0.3% of all transfusions). Other blood components, mainly RC, were associated to FFP in 96% of the cases. The patients consuming more FFP units were those of heart surgery and intensive care units, with significant differences with respect to others.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows a steady decrease in the use of FFP, which is stable in the last years. The patients receiving only FFP represented a low number with respect to all the patients transfused. The follow-up of these patients might provide valuable data about the benefit of adding additional security processes to standard FFP.
Barbolla
L
L
Servicio de Hematología y Hemoterapia, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, U.A.M., Madrid.
Richart
A
A
Paniagua
C
C
D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009026:Mortality; D010949:Plasma; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain