title: A cross-sectional pilot study of blood utilization in 27 hospitals in Northern California.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To gather benchmarking data on blood utilization so as to inform blood management strategies at regional hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional pilot study of 40 regional hospitals in Northern California using a paper-based survey designed to capture blood component utilization and transfusion management practices. The data were analyzed based on size and complexity of the respondent hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-seven (68%) of 40 hospitals responded, ranging in size from 23- to 600-bed facilities. Results showed a wide range of transfusions for each component. All hospitals reported some level of blood utilization oversight in place. Overall, 88.5% had a computerized laboratory information system, of which 17% performed an electronic cross-match. Transfusion triggers for RBCs, platelets, plasma, and cryoprecipitate were in use in 61.5%, 65.4%, 57.7%, and 46.2% of hospitals, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is awareness of the need for transfusion oversight. However, the findings show a wide spectrum of transfusion practice, and high-yield measures, such as electronic cross-match and transfusion triggers, have not been uniformly implemented. The results indicate that there is a role for blood centers to assist client hospitals to maximize their efficiency and reduce blood utilization.
authors.affiliation: From the Blood Systems Research Institute, San Francisco, CA; Blood Centers of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA; ebloch@bloodystems.org.
authors.forename: Evan M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.affiliation: Blood Centers of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; and.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.affiliation: From the Blood Systems Research Institute, San Francisco, CA;
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruhn
authors.affiliation: Blood Centers of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA;
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hirschler
authors.affiliation: Blood Centers of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA; Blood Bank of Hawaii, Honolulu.
authors.forename: Kim-Anh
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Nguyen
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000592:standards*; D016913:Blood Component Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects
keywords: Blood transfusions; Quality management; Utilization