THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGE AND DIAGNOSIS OF BLOOD RECIPIENTS

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGE AND DIAGNOSIS OF
BLOOD RECIPIENTS
B.A. Borkent-Raven, M.P. Janssen, C.L. van der
Poel, B.A. van Hout Julius Center, University
Medical Center Utrecht
?age 0 years received 8.306 erythrocyte products
3,7 of the total usage
Introduction The fate of a blood component is
presently unknown in terms of distribution by
patient characteristics. In the PROTON-study the
profile of blood component recipients is
analysed. This profile contains characteristics
like age, sex, component type, survival and
hospital discharge diagnosis. All these factors
influence the cost-effectiveness of new blood
safety measures. Method Information on patients
receiving blood components in the period
1991-2003 was extracted from the UMC Utrecht
laboratory and patient databases. Discharge
diagnoses were available by ICD-9 code. A five
median value smoother algorithm was applied to
improve the readability of the graphs.
Results In the study period33.451 patients
received 353.138 products (226.512 erythrocytes,
86.074 plasma, 40.552 thrombocytes). This is 11
products per patient on average. Age 0 receives
the highest number of blood components 3,5. The
graphs show the distribution of age and diagnosis
for erythrocyte, plasma and thrombocyte
products.
? age 0 years received 2.428 plasma products
2,8 of the total usage
? age 0 years received 1.639 thrombocyte
products 4,0 of the total usage
Discussion/Conclusion Given an average of 11
transfusions per patient, blood transfusion risks
should be adjusted for this average dose.
Although the UMC Utrecht includes a childrens
hospital, the number of blood components given to
babies is remarkable. Survivors in this age group
have a high life expectancy, so blood safety
measures for this group are more cost-effective.
The diagnoses are also related to the life
expectancy. For example the group of pregnant
women (visible between 20 and 40 years of age)
has a relatively high survival rate, while on the
other hand many blood components go to people
with neoplasms, who will probably not live very
long after transfusion. To study these
characteristics on a national level, data from
other hospitals are needed. The PROTON-study will
obtain similar results from around 20 Dutch
hospitals.