The top 10 things to know about transfusion medicine before intern year: an evidence-based course for graduating medical students

BACKGROUND: Transfusion medicine (TM) knowledge varies widely among physician trainees. In addition, there have been few instances in which curricular changes have been meaningfully assessed for TM education in medical school. METHODS: We created and presented a novel lecture to improve TM knowledge for graduating medical students using eight objectives designed to reinforce critical information about blood management. Each objective was coded according to unique color schemes, fonts, and graphics to create visual associations while quickly and clearly presenting complex concepts. The validated BEST Collaborative exam was used to measure changes in student TM knowledge, while a survey was conducted to gauge changes in confidence for each objective. Students were asked to submit anonymous feedback about their experiences. RESULTS: The mean student post-course exam score was 50.0%, while the pre-course baseline score was 27.5% (P<0.0001). Mean confidence levels increased significantly for all objectives. Student feedback was universally positive. CONCLUSION: This study improved knowledge and confidence for graduating medical students by utilizing engaging and visually stimulating presentations to display high-impact TM material. However, further efforts are needed to optimize learning.

Complications following an unnecessary peri-operative plasma transfusion and literature review / 대한혈액학회지

Plasma is used to correct coagulopathies, but not all coagulation abnormalities are clinically significant enough to require correction before an invasive procedure. We report an 82 year old female who, in response to a mildly prolonged INR of unknown etiology, was unnecessarily transfused with plasma in advance of elective surgery. The patient suffered a moderately severe transfusion reaction, including hives and voice hoarseness, which caused a 4-week delay in her surgery. This delay and adverse reaction could have been avoided had the principles of evidence based plasma therapy, which we herein review, been followed and if the etiology of the mildly elevated INR been investigated before the day of her surgery.

The impact of suctioning RBCs from a simulated operative site on mechanical fragility and hemolysis / 대한혈액학회지

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative cell salvage exerts shear stress upon RBCs, particularly as they are suctioned from the surgical field. Shear stress can result in overt hemolysis or it can cause sublethal injury to the suctioned RBCs. The mechanical fragility (MF) test uses shear stress to measure the extent of RBC sublethal injury. RBCs that have sustained sublethal injury are more susceptible to shear stress induced hemolysis. In this study we suctioned whole blood samples from an artificial surgical field to determine if pre-menopausal female RBCs would demonstrate greater resistance to hemolysis and less sublethal injury compared to that of males and post-menopausal females. METHODS: Ten CPD-preserved whole blood units from these 3 donor groups were obtained and samples suctioned at -150 mmHg from a simulated surgical field. The MF test was then performed and the % hemolysis calculated. In addition the MF test was serially performed on these whole blood units during the 21 days of storage. RESULTS: There were no differences in the extent of hemolysis or RBC shear stress resistance after suctioning between the 3 donor groups. During storage the pre-menopausal female RBCs demonstrated higher shear stress tolerance compared to the males or post-menopausal females at all of the time points. CONCLUSION: Although during static storage pre-menopausal female RBCs in CPD-preserved whole blood demonstrated higher shear stress tolerance, this enhanced resistance was not observed after suctioning from a simulated surgical field.