Frequency of Blood Transfusion Related Acute Adverse Reactions in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Islamabad

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the magnitude of adverse acute transfusion reactions in terms of contributing factors among in-patients receiving blood or blood components, and to determine the crossmatch to transfusion (C/T) ratio, transfusion probability (%T), and transfusion index (TI) of red cell concentrates.
Methodology: This study was conducted from August to October 2024, at Dr. Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital (ANTH), Islamabad. The daily transfusion utilization of ANTH is an average of 15 units. A total of 527 red cell transfused patients were followed in this study. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from the HMIS. Baseline measurement and 24-hour periodic vital signs monitoring were conducted after each transfusion. In case of ATR, 4 mL of venous blood was drawn for CBC, blood grouping, direct antihuman globulin test (DAT), and crossmatching. Further, the following three indices were calculated for each patient separately, i.e. C/T ratio, transfusion probability, and transfusion index. Data were entered into and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science software (SPSS) version 26.0. A P value ≤ .05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.
Results: A total of 527 participants were included in this study, with more than half (56%) of them being females. The age of the participants ranged from 3 days to 88 years, and the median age of transfused patients was 34 years. The blood groups B positive (52.18%) and O positive (20.87%) were the most common ones. Acute transfusion reactions were observed in 0.38% of patients (2/527) and both were febrile non-haemolytic transfusion reactions. CT ratio was 1.69, TI 0.59, and %T 59.01.
Conclusion: The overall results of our analysis showed proper utilization of blood components at ANTH. Starting a hemovigilance system of monitoring, collecting, and evaluating data on adverse effects of blood transfusion locally and nationally will decrease the occurrence of acute transfusion