Anemia and red blood cell transfusion in the critically ill.
Critically ill patients are anemic early in their intensive care unit (ICU) course. As a consequence of this anemia they receive a large number of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. There is little evidence that "routine" transfusion of stored allogeneic RBCs is beneficial to critically ill patients and may in fact be associated with worse clinical outcomes. It is clear that most critically ill patients can tolerate hemoglobin levels as low as 7 g/dl and therefore a more conservative approach to RBC transfusion is warranted. Strategies to minimize loss of blood and increase the production of RBCs are also important in the management of all critically ill patients.
Corwin
Howard L
HL
Section of Critical Care Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756, USA. howard.l.corwin@hitchcock.org
D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D016638:Critical Illness; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000592:standards; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin