View clinical trials related to Blood Component Transfusion.
Filter by:In Canada, 218,000 units of fresh frozen plasma and frozen plasma were transfused in 2005.Cardiac surgery patients are the largest recipient group for FP transfusions. Despite this, no studies have characterized the use of FP in relation to coagulation test abnormalities or bleeding, or how these and other clinical determinants influence the decision to transfuse FP. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated the effectiveness of FP transfusions in correcting laboratory abnormalities or treating bleeding in cardiac surgery. Given the varied use of FP transfusions in cardiac surgery, further studies are essential.In order to improve current utilization of FP, current use must be understood, and the relationship between FP transfusions and the clinical factors that affect the decision to transfuse FP.
There is little evidence to guide the current use of Frozen Plasma. Despite this, over 260,000 units of frozen plasma are transfused in Canada annually. Based on the limited published data available, the pattern of practice for Frozen Plasma transfusions is highly variable and an important number of Frozen Plasma transfusions appear to be inappropriate. Given inappropriate use, it is inevitable that a percentage of patients experience unnecessary and potentially life-threatening adverse transfusion reactions. Current guidelines for Frozen Plasma offer little help in guiding specific clinical decisions as their recommendations lack sufficient clinical details. This lack of detail also hinders the utility of these guidelines to help monitor and improve clinical practice. Further research examining Frozen Plasma transfusions including an understanding our current use is critical to improve the utilization of this valuable and limited resource.
This study is designed to provide information on patients' immune response after exposure to transfused blood. Blood transfusions may have opposite immune effects on patients. One is sensitization. The other is immunosuppression. The magnitude of these effects in patients who are not on chemotherapy is unknown. These effects are thought to be due largely to white blood cells present in the transfusion product. "Leukofiltration" and "gamma-irradiation" are the special treatments that deplete white blood cells. A combination of leukofiltration and gamma-irradiation pretreatment of donor blood is thought to deplete the white blood cells most effectively. In this study, patients scheduled for cardiac surgery are randomly assigned to receive blood products pretreated in one of three ways: untreated, filtered or filtered and irradiated. If their physician orders transfusions, they will receive products assigned to their group. Patients are asked to provide two blood samples during the 4 weeks after surgery. Studies will measure changes in antibody to HLA and in cells that regulate the immune response. The levels of sensitization and immunosuppression will be correlated to the transfusion products received.