Using small-volume rather than standard-volume collection tubes to draw blood for laboratory testing may reduce the incidence of anemia and the need for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in intensive care units (ICUs), according to a new study. The change does not appear to impair biospecimen sufficiency for lab analysis.
In addition, by reducing blood transfusion during ICU admission by about 10 units per 100 patients, the change may enable hospitals and health systems to sustain blood product supply during ongoing worldwide shortages.
Dr Deborah Siegal
"It doesn't take long working in a hospital or being a patient or family member to realize how much blood we take to do lab work. As a result, patients may develop anemia and low RBC counts, which can be associated with worse health outcomes," lead author Deborah Siegal, MD, a hematologist at the Ottawa Hospital and associate professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa, told Medscape Medical News.
"Unfortunately, the majority of the blood we take is discarded as waste," she said. "Here's an opportunity to move the needle on reducing anemia in hospitalized patients, where the benefit also doesn't come at a cost."
The study was published online October 12 in JAMA.
Reducing Blood Loss
Among ICU patients with critical illness, there is a high prevalence of anemia, Siegal noted.
