title: A clinical audit on the practice of platelet transfusions at a tertiary paediatric referral centre.
abstract: Platelet transfusions are indicated in a wide variety of clinical conditions especially those with thrombocytopenia. However, without proper clinical practice guidelines, inappropriate transfusions are bound to happen. To ascertain the provision of a quality and appropriate practice of platelet transfusions, an audit study was carried out over a period of one month at the Paediatric Institute, Kuala Lumpur Hospital. A prospective audit was performed during that period whilst a retrospective collection of data was carried out for the previous month for comparison. Based on a set of criteria agreed upon by the audit committee, it was found that in 18.5% (22 of 119) of the cases, the indications for platelet transfusions were inappropriate. The audit committee concluded that there is a need for a more detailed clinical practice guideline for local use to reduce or lower the incidence of inappropriate transfusions of platelets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jamal
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Hoe
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Afifah
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khuzaiah
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Doraisamy
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008296:Malaysia; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010976:Platelet Count; D017713:Platelet Transfusion / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies