Reducing blood transfusion requirements in preterm infants by a new device: A pilot study

Ami Ballin, Victoria Livshiz, Francis B. Mimouni, Shaul Dollberg, David Kohelet, Assaf Oren, Eliana Arbel, Mona Boaz, Adina Tal, Zipora Matas, Dror Mandel*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To test a new device designed to salvage red blood cells (RBCs) from blood samples drawn from preterm infants, with the intent of decreasing blood loss and lowering the requirements for RBC transfusions. Design: A case-controlled pilot study was conducted in two Israeli neonatal intensive care units in large municipal hospitals. Twenty low-birthweight preterm infants were randomly and equally divided into the ErythroSave™ group or a control group. All blood tests in the study group (except for complete blood count and coagulation parameters) were obtained during the first week of life by the new device in the study group and by ordinary syringes in the control group. The main outcome measure was the total number of units of blood needed. Results: The average volume of blood obtained for laboratory analyses from each infant was 27 mL in the ErythroSave group and 24 mL in controls (not significant). The average volume of transfused packed cells was 6.4 mL for the ErythroSave group and 21.3 mL for the controls (p = 0.008). Conclusion: The use of ErythroSave for sampling blood significantly reduced blood transfusion requirements in premature infants compared to sampling by conventional syringes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)247-250
Number of pages4
JournalActa Paediatrica, International Journal of Paediatrics
Volume98
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2009

Keywords

  • Anaemia of prematurity
  • Prematurity
  • Red blood cell transfusion

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reducing blood transfusion requirements in preterm infants by a new device: A pilot study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this