July 12, 2023
AABB’s Transfusion Safety and Patient Blood Management (TS/PBM) Subsection recently released the latest article in its “PBM Column” series, “How Do I Treat Anemia in the Perisurgical Setting?”
In this complimentary resource, Shaughn Nalezinski, MS, MLS(ASCP)cmSBBcm, MLS(AMT), from the Department of Laboratory Medicine Transfusion Services at Concord Hospital, reviews recent research related to the prevalence of anemia in surgical patients and postsurgical outcomes among anemic patients. Perioperative anemia tied with surgical blood loss increases the need for allogeneic blood transfusions, Nalezinski noted, which research suggests may be associated with postoperative complications and an increased mortality risk.
The column continues with a discussion of preoperative testing as a tool to identify anemic patients before surgery, outlining each step of the testing process and the ideal timing to begin presurgical anemia testing. Nalezinski concludes with an overview of four methods to treat preoperative anemia: iron therapy, vitamin B12 supplementation, folate (vitamin B6) supplementation and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs).
Additional PBM resources are available in AABB’s PBM Toolkit.
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