title: The chiasm: transfusion practice versus patient blood management.
abstract: In recent years it became increasingly clear that allogeneic red blood cell (RBC) transfusions result in increased mortality and major adverse clinical outcomes. The major risk factors for RBC transfusions are preoperative anaemia, high perioperative blood loss and liberal transfusion triggers. Patient blood management (PBM), the bundle of preoperative anaemia treatment, measures to reduce perioperative blood loss and optimising anaemia tolerance, aims at minimising RBC transfusion needs and improving clinical outcomes. PBM has been adopted by the World Health Organization as the new standard of care and all member states are urged to implement this concept. Australia is leading the world in that PBM is indeed implemented at the current time.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anesthesiology, Section Head Medical, Anesthesiology - Intensive Care Medicine - OR-Management, University and University Hospital Zurich, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland. donat.spahn@usz.ch
authors.forename: Donat R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Spahn
authors.forename: Aryeh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shander
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofmann
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D058731:Blood Safety / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D019468:Disease Management; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D019106:Postoperative Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D012307:Risk Factors