BACKGROUND: The risks and benefits of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in palliative care patients remain poorly understood. We reviewed the literature to summarize available information on RBC transfusion in this population. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We searched electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL) from inception through September 2016 to identify studies reporting data on palliative patients receiving RBC transfusion. Original studies that assessed RBC transfusion as an intervention and reported at least one clinical outcome were included. Study characteristics, results on transfusion-related outcomes, and authors' conclusions on the value of transfusion in palliative patients were abstracted and reported. RESULTS: We identified 1839 studies, of which 137 were selected for data extraction and 13 were included (11 case series, one prospective cohort, and one retrospective cohort). Nine studies addressed symptom relief following transfusion using subjective symptom scales, of which eight (89%) indicated some degree of short-term benefit and one study (11%) showed no benefit. Posttransfusion survival was reported in four studies-one demonstrated prolonged survival in patients receiving RBC transfusion; three had no comparison group. Other outcomes reported included hemoglobin values posttransfusion in four studies and adverse events following transfusion in three studies. CONCLUSIONS: In palliative care, RBC transfusion may provide symptom relief and improve subjective well-being, though the duration and magnitude of this effect, and transfusion-associated risks specific to this population remain unclear. Currently, no high quality evidence exists to support or guide the use of RBC transfusion in this population. Moreover, the clinical heterogeneity within the palliative population limits the interpretation of most studies.
BACKGROUND: The risks and benefits of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in palliative care patients remain poorly understood. We reviewed the literature to summarize available information on RBC transfusion in this population. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We searched electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL) from inception through September 2016 to identify studies reporting data on palliative patients receiving RBC transfusion. Original studies that assessed RBC transfusion as an intervention and reported at least one clinical outcome were included. Study characteristics, results on transfusion-related outcomes, and authors' conclusions on the value of transfusion in palliative patients were abstracted and reported. RESULTS: We identified 1839 studies, of which 137 were selected for data extraction and 13 were included (11 case series, one prospective cohort, and one retrospective cohort). Nine studies addressed symptom relief following transfusion using subjective symptom scales, of which eight (89%) indicated some degree of short-term benefit and one study (11%) showed no benefit. Posttransfusion survival was reported in four studies-one demonstrated prolonged survival in patients receiving RBC transfusion; three had no comparison group. Other outcomes reported included hemoglobin values posttransfusion in four studies and adverse events following transfusion in three studies. CONCLUSIONS: In palliative care, RBC transfusion may provide symptom relief and improve subjective well-being, though the duration and magnitude of this effect, and transfusion-associated risks specific to this population remain unclear. Currently, no high quality evidence exists to support or guide the use of RBC transfusion in this population. Moreover, the clinical heterogeneity within the palliative population limits the interpretation of most studies.
Authors: Elizabeth St Lezin; Matthew S Karafin; Roberta Bruhn; Dhuly Chowdhury; Lirong Qu; Walter Bialkowski; Scott Merenda; Pamela D'Andrea; Anne-Lyne McCalla; Lisa Anderson; Sheila M Keating; Mars Stone; Edward L Snyder; Donald Brambilla; Edward L Murphy; Philip J Norris; Joan F Hilton; Bryan R Spencer; Steven Kleinman; Jeffrey L Carson Journal: Transfusion Date: 2019-03-18 Impact factor: 3.157
Authors: Mikkael A Sekeres; Gordon Guyatt; Gregory Abel; Shabbir Alibhai; Jessica K Altman; Rena Buckstein; Hannah Choe; Pinkal Desai; Harry Erba; Christopher S Hourigan; Thomas W LeBlanc; Mark Litzow; Janet MacEachern; Laura C Michaelis; Sudipto Mukherjee; Kristen O'Dwyer; Ashley Rosko; Richard Stone; Arnav Agarwal; L E Colunga-Lozano; Yaping Chang; QiuKui Hao; Romina Brignardello-Petersen Journal: Blood Adv Date: 2020-08-11
Authors: Karen Neoh; Ross Gray; John Grant-Casey; Lise Estcourt; Catherine Malia; Jason W Boland; Michael I Bennett Journal: Palliat Med Date: 2018-09-27 Impact factor: 4.762
Authors: Dorothy McCaughan; Eve Roman; Alexandra G Smith; Anne C Garry; Miriam J Johnson; Russell D Patmore; Martin R Howard; Debra A Howell Journal: Eur J Oncol Nurs Date: 2019-02-07 Impact factor: 2.398
Authors: Meira Erel; Esther-Lee Marcus; Samuel N Heyman; Freda DeKeyser Ganz Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-08-17 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Henry Ddungu; Elizabeth M Krantz; Warren Phipps; Sandra Naluzze; Jackson Orem; Noah Kiwanuka; Anna Wald; Isaac Kajja Journal: J Glob Oncol Date: 2018-10