Improving Anesthesia Provider Knowledge and Competence in Patient Blood Management

Background: In the United States, blood transfusions are the most common medical procedure performed in hospitals. When used appropriately, allogeneic blood transfusions are crucial life-saving interventions essential in perioperative management. The use of blood transfusions should be based on safety, efficacy, and quality of treatment. However, a significant volume of evidence has emerged correlating blood transfusions to adverse patient outcomes, increases in cost, increases in morbidity, and mortality in surgical patients. Noting this, current transfusion practices require further evaluation. Patient Blood Management is a novel multidisciplinary approach that mitigate these negative outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using CINAHL and MEDLINE databases to identify research studies from 2015 and forward that have evaluated the effectiveness of Patient Blood Management in reducing morbidity, mortality, and excess costs associated with inappropriate allogeneic blood transfusion administration. Results: A total of 8 research studies were identified for review. These studies analyzed various treatment modalities within Patient Blood Management. The articles affirm the reliability and validity of the initiative in reducing the overutilization allogeneic blood transfusions in the perioperative period and thus reducing the associated adverse outcomes and cost