Neonatal pulmonary microaggregates and thrombi. Lack of correlation with blood transfusion.

A retrospective review of 36 neonatal autopsies was undertaken to determine whether blood transfusion was related to pulmonary arterial thrombi at autopsy. The number of transfusions and amount transfused were compared with an estimate of the number of thrombi in the pulmonary arterial tree, determined by a point-counting method. No relation was found between these quantities, nor were thrombi related to infection or bronchopulmonary dysplasia.