Frequency of blood transfusion, hemoglobin and relative factors in patients with pelvic surgeries in 2020 in Shahid Chamran Hospital, Shiraz, Iran

Many of hip fracture patients need transfusion. We examined the frequency of blood transfusion, the relative factors, and the threshold of hemoglobin in hip fracture patients receiving blood transfusion before and during pelvic surgeries.

This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on all patients with proximal femur fractures who underwent hip surgery at Shahid Chamran Hospital in Shiraz in 2020. The frequency of blood transfusion, hemoglobin threshold, and the related factors was investigated.

Out of 218 patients, 65 (29.8%) had received blood out of whom 23 patients (35.4%) had received blood before surgery. The hemoglobin threshold before transfusion was 10.99. The average hemoglobin in patients who received blood was less than the patients who did not receive blood (p< 0.001) 10.55 ± 1.61 versus 12.45 ± 1.61. The average number of units used in patients who received blood was 2.30 ± 0.72 (1 to 4 blood units). The frequency of blood transfusion was related to hemoglobin before surgery, gender, type of anesthesia, type of surgery, history of anemia, duration of surgery, and surgeon. The amount of blood consumption did not depend on the patient age .

The average hemoglobin before transfusion was higher than previous studies. It seems that the blood transfusion threshold was higher than in previous studies. Considering the risks and costs of blood transfusion, it seems that physicians' education and emphasis on the use of restrictive transfusion strategy can lead to reduction of blood consumption, reduction of complications, and better blood management.