Surveillance of Transfusion Related Adverse Reactions in a Tertiary Care Centre in Bangalore: A 4-Year Hemovigilance Initiative

Abstract

Even though blood transfusion is a life saving measure, it is nonetheless associated with a number of risks and hazards. The adverse reactions that can be potentially expected range anywhere in severity from mild to life threatening. The hemovigilance program deals with the systematic surveillance of these reactions as and when they occur in a hospital setting with an explicit aim of improving the quality and safety standards of the entire transfusion process. The current study was undertaken in the blood bank of a tertiary care centre in Bangalore to ascertain frequency of the blood transfusion related adverse reactions and to make a systematic profile assessment. Data was collected over a period of 4 years and 3 months. All adverse reactions caused by transfusion of blood and its products during the study period were included in the study. A total of 6910 units of blood and its components were issued to patients during the study period. Transfusion reactions accounted for 0.5% of transfusions. Febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reactions were the most common reactions (51.4%) followed by allergic reactions (40%), fluid overload (5.7%) and anaphylactic reactions (2.9%). Majority of these reactions were seen with PRBC transfusions (74.3%) followed by platelet transfusions (25.7%). The use of leukoreduced PRBCs will help in reducing the frequency of these reactions. The hemovigilance program of our institution helps in assessing the diversity of adverse reactions associated with transfusion of blood and its various components. It is also an efficient scheme for minimizing their occurrence by ensuring safety standards.

A Study on Adverse Transfusion Reactions in a Secondary Care Hospital of Rural India

“…were allergic reactions (65.6%) and (46.8%) [14,15]. The higher incidence of reactions in our study was constituted by FNHTRs (73.3%), which were similar to the study carried out by Rajini Bassi et al (50.9%), Pahuja S et al (37.2%),and Pai S etal(51.4%) [16,17,18].…”

Blood Transfusion Complications and Associated Factors Among Blood-Transfused Adult Patients at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia: A Cross Sectional Study

“…This result was in line with previous studies conducted in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia (5.2%), 8 Bangladesh (3.6%), 19 Sweden (7.9%), 27 Tzu-Chi Hospital, Taiwan (3.5%), 24 Belgaum (4.4), 28 Kano, and North-Western Nigeria (3.6%). 29 The result of this study was higher than studies conducted in Iran (0.95), 18 India (0.96%), 1 Namibia (0.2%), 21 Bangalore, India (0.5%), 17 and Democratic Republic of Congo 2.6. 22 One of the reasons may be that component transfusion was practiced in the areas mentioned later, especially in Iran, where leukocyte filtration was practiced.…”

“…In the current study, acute anemia (57), chronic anemia (95), and hematological abnormalities (17) are the common reasons for whole-blood transfusion (Table 2).…”

“…In Europe and other continents, the prevalence is between 0.23% and 3.6%. 1 , 4 , 17 , 18 The lowest prevalence is reported in the United States of America (USA) (0.23%), while the highest is found in Bangladesh (3.6%). 19 , 20 However, the prevalence of ATR ranges from 2.6% to 5.2% 8 , 21 , 22 in some African countries, whereas in Ethiopia it is not well studied.…”

Comparison of post-decompressive haematuria in rapid versus gradual bladder decompression in patients with chronic urinary retention

“…Complications of blood transfusion could be early, which ranges from mild febrile non-haemolytic reaction to severe graft versus host disease and ultimately death or late complications, which includes bloodborne diseases, such as viral, fungal, or bacteria microorganisms:[ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ] even in a screened blood, especially when the donor is in the window period. Since every patient transfused is at risk of these complications, every surgeon aims to employ every medical option not to transfuse or reduce the rate of blood transfusion in surgical patients to avoid or minimise transfusion-related complications.…”