Appropriateness of Use of Blood Products in Tertiary Hospitals

Aims: This study aimed at evaluating the appropriateness of use of blood products in Northern Philippines and sought to find out if significant differences exist on the appropriateness of use of the blood products among the different departments and the tertiary hospitals.

Methodology: The appropriateness of use was determined by the criteria of the joint initiative of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australasian Society of Blood Transfusion (ASBT). The frequency of utilization and the percentage of appropriateness were determined to compare the use of blood products among the different departments and the tertiary hospitals. Contingence tables were formed to test the associations between the categorical variables. The statistical significance was determined by Chi square test when p value <0.05.

Results: A total of 1,075 transfusion events were evaluated with a mean number of 2.43 transfusions per patient. Forty-one percent (41%) received two transfusions, 22% received one, and 37% received three or more transfusions. Five hundred eighty-three (583) transfusions were in the Medicine, 215 in Surgery, 218 in Obstetrics and 59 in Pediatrics. The overall prevalence of appropriate use among the different departments was 65%, and 59% among the tertiary hospitals. Appropriateness of use was statistically different among departments. A significant association also exist between the percentages of appropriate use of the blood products among the tertiary hospitals.

Conclusion: The study revealed that there was substantial variation in the appropriate transfusion practices across study hospitals and appropriateness of use was influenced by the departments regardless of the blood products.