Clinical Outcomes, Blood Utilization, and Ethical Considerations for Pediatric Patients in a Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Program.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric patients requesting bloodless care represent a challenging clinical situation, as parents cannot legally refuse lifesaving or optimal interventions for their children. Here, we report clinical outcomes for the largest series of pediatric inpatients requesting bloodless care and also discuss the ethical considerations. METHODS: We performed a single-institution retrospective cohort study assessing 196 pediatric inpatients (<18 years of age) who requested bloodless care between June 2012 and June 2016. Patient characteristics, transfusion rates, and clinical outcomes were compared between pediatric patients receiving bloodless care and those receiving standard care (including transfusions if considered necessary by the clinical team) (n = 37,271). Families were informed that all available measures would be undertaken to avoid blood transfusions, although we were legally obligated to transfuse blood if the child's life was threatened. The primary outcome was composite morbidity or mortality. Secondary outcomes included percentage of patients transfused, individual morbid events, length of stay, total hospital charges, and total costs. Subgroup analyses were performed after stratification into medical and surgical patients. RESULTS: Of the 196 pediatric patients that requested bloodless care, 6.1% (n = 12) received an allogeneic blood component, compared to 9.1% (n = 3392) for standard care patients ( P = .14). The most common indications for transfusion were perioperative bleeding and anemia of prematurity. None of the transfusions were administered under a court order. Overall, pediatric patients receiving bloodless care exhibited lower rates of composite morbidity compared to patients receiving standard care (2.6% vs 6.2%; P = .035). There were no deaths in the bloodless cohort. Individual morbid events, length of stay, and total hospital charges/costs were not significantly different between the 2 groups. After multivariable analysis, bloodless care was not associated with a significant difference in composite morbidity or mortality (odds ratio [OR], 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12-1.11; P = .077). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients receiving bloodless care exhibited similar clinical outcomes compared to patients receiving standard care, although larger studies with adequate power are needed to confirm this finding. There were no mortalities among the pediatric bloodless cohort. Although a subset of our pediatric bloodless patients received an allogeneic transfusion, no patients required a court order. When delivered in a collaborative and patient-centered manner, blood transfusions can be safely limited among pediatric patients.

Management and clinical outcomes for patients with gastrointestinal bleeding who decline transfusion.

BACKGROUND: The national blood shortage and growing patient population who decline blood transfusions have created the need for bloodless medicine initiatives. This case series describes the management of gastrointestinal bleed patients who declined allogeneic blood transfusion. Understanding the effectiveness of bloodless techniques may improve treatment for future patients while avoiding the risks and cost associated with transfusion. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review identified 30 inpatient encounters admitted between 2016 to 2022 for gastrointestinal hemorrhage who declined transfusion due to religious or personal reasons. Clinical characteristics and patient blood management methods utilized during hospitalization were analyzed. Hemoglobin concentrations and clinical outcomes are reported. RESULTS: The most common therapy was intravenous iron (n = 25, 83.3%), followed by erythropoietin (n = 18, 60.0%). Endoscopy was the most common procedure performed (n = 23, 76.7%), and surgical intervention was less common (n = 4, 13.3%). Pre-procedure hemoglobin was <6 g/dL in 7 patients, and <5 g/dL in 4 patients. The median nadir hemoglobin was 5.6 (IQR 4.5, 7.0) g/dL, which increased post-treatment to 7.3 (IQR 6.2, 8.4) g/dL upon discharge. One patient (3.3%) with a nadir Hb of 3.7 g/dL died during hospitalization from sepsis. Nine other patients with nadir Hb <5 g/dL survived hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Gastrointestinal bleed patients can be successfully managed with optimal bloodless medicine techniques. Even patients with a nadir Hb <5-6 g/dL can be stabilized with aggressive anemia treatment and may safely undergo anesthesia and endoscopy or surgery for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Methods used for treating bloodless medicine patients may be used to improve clinical care for all patients.