Red blood cells: an analysis of risk versus benefit.
The value of red blood cell administration to increase oxygen carrying capacity is obvious to all clinicians. Nevertheless, there has never been a prospective, randomized, controlled study documenting the efficacy or conclusively defining the indications for red blood cell use. Considering the risks associated with allogeneic blood, careful consideration must be given before the administration of each unit of blood product.
Ellison
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Department of Anesthesia, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA. ellisonn@uphs.upenn.edu
D001803:Blood Transfusion; D004912:Erythrocytes; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D065227:Transfusion Reaction