ABSTRACT
Anaemia is a common condition in Malaysia, and is mostly due to iron deficiency. In many cases, allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) is administered unnecessarily to treat anaemia. Patient blood management (PBM) is a concept whereby a patient becomes his or her "own blood bank", instead of receiving ABT. The concept encompasses three pillars namely optimising erythropoiesis, minimising blood loss and harnessing human physiological reserve. We present a safe and fruitful outcome of managing severe anaemia without utilising any ABT, made possible with the PBM approach including administration of intravenous iron.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/drug therapy , Blood Transfusion, Autologous/methods , Iron/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , Infusions, Intravenous , Iron/therapeutic use , Jehovah's Witnesses , Young AdultABSTRACT
This study examined a stratified random sample of 233 Kuwaiti 8- to 12-year-old boys and girls, in order to assess their level of exposure to violence during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and its relation to psychological and cognitive performance 1 year after the crisis. Children were assessed on intelligence, posttraumatic stress, and depression, and were interviewed about their crisis experience. No significant decline in intelligence scores was detected after the crisis. A difference in level of parental depression was found between those who stayed in Kuwait as compared to those who were out for all or part of the crisis. Depression in children was low but associated with the level of exposure to violence as reported in the interview, and greater levels of posttraumatic stress. The results support the hypothesis that acute trauma resulting from exposure to violence is related to posttraumatic stress in children.