title: Debate: transfusing to normal haemoglobin levels will not improve outcome.
abstract: Recent evidence suggests that critically ill patients are able to tolerate lower levels of haemoglobin than was previously believed. It is our goal to show that transfusing to a level of 100 g/l does not improve mortality and other clinically important outcomes in a critical care setting. Although many questions remain, many laboratory and clinical studies, including a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT), have established that transfusing to normal haemoglobin concentrations does not improve organ failure and mortality in the critically ill patient. In addition, a restrictive transfusion strategy will reduce exposure to allogeneic transfusions, result in more efficient use of red blood cells (RBCs), save blood overall, and decrease health care costs.
authors: Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Alvarez
authors: P C
authors: PC
authors: Hébert
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Szick
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins