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Open Access 01-12-2013 | Review

Age of red blood cells and transfusion in critically ill patients

Authors: Cécile Aubron, Alistair Nichol, D Jamie Cooper, Rinaldo Bellomo

Published in: Annals of Intensive Care | Issue 1/2013

Abstract

Red blood cells (RBC) storage facilitates the supply of RBC to meet the clinical demand for transfusion and to avoid wastage. However, RBC storage is associated with adverse changes in erythrocytes and their preservation medium. These changes are responsible for functional alterations and for the accumulation of potentially injurious bioreactive substances. They also may have clinically harmful effects especially in critically ill patients. The clinical consequences of storage lesions, however, remain a matter of persistent controversy. Multiple retrospective, observational, and single-center studies have reported heterogeneous and conflicting findings about the effect of blood storage duration on morbidity and/or mortality in trauma, cardiac surgery, and intensive care unit patients. Describing the details of this controversy, this review not only summarizes the current literature but also highlights the equipoise that currently exists with regard to the use of short versus current standard (extended) storage duration red cells in critically ill patients and supports the need for large, randomized, controlled trials evaluating the clinical impact of transfusing fresh (short duration of storage) versus older (extended duration of storage) red cells in critically ill patients.

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Title: Age of red blood cells and transfusion in critically ill patients
Authors: Cécile Aubron
Alistair Nichol
D Jamie Cooper
Rinaldo Bellomo
Publication date: 01-12-2013
Publisher: Springer Paris
Published in: Annals of Intensive Care / Issue 1/2013
Electronic ISSN: 2110-5820
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/2110-5820-3-2

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Age of red blood cells and transfusion in critically ill patients

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