Blood Transfusion and Associated Factors in Pregnant Women Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southeast Iran

Abstract

Background: Effective blood transfusion is a life-saving practice in obstetrics and gynecology emergencies that can prevent blood product wastage in hospitals. Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the appropriateness of the use of blood products in pregnant women in a tertiary care hospital in Zahedan, southeast Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2019 to March 2020 to assess the patterns of blood utilization in a tertiary care hospital in Zahedan, Iran. Blood bank registries and the data of 1,500 pregnant women were used for data analysis, using blood transfusion indices, including cross-matched to transfusion (C/T) ratio, transfusion probability (T), and transfusion index (TI). Results: Out of 1,064 units of requested blood products, 581 (54.6%) were cross-matched, and 774 (72.7%) were transfused to patients. The blood transfusion indices of C/T, T%, and TI were 2.11, 48.48%, and 0.76, respectively. The transfusion rate was 6.2%, and the commonest associated obstetrics complication requiring transfusion was uterine atony (32.2%), followed by anemia (17.2%). There was a statistically significant relationship between the type of delivery, uterine and placental problems, coagulation disorders during pregnancy, number of deliveries, and residence place, and the probability of blood transfusion (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The overall blood utilization indices were encouraging; however, the proportion of blood wastage was relatively high. Regular auditing is needed to optimize the use of blood and blood products in obstetrics and gynecology departments.

Blood Transfusion Request and Utilization: The Trend in a Tertiary Health Care Centre in North Central Nigeria

“…These reports demonstrated the fact that this essential gift of life is grossly in short supply globally more so in the middle-and low income countries, Nigeria inclusive. [15] among pregnant women in Southeast Iran showed comparable transfusion indices with our findings from Obstetrics and Gynaecology, however it is worthy of note that while we considered both Obstetrics and Gynaecology, theirs was only among pregnant women. Contrary to the predominance of O&G in blood transfusion requests in our study, Ibijola et al [16] in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria reported the predominance of requests from the Department of Paediatrics and this was attributed to haemolysis with resultant anaemia due to malaria infestation.…”