Guideline on Red Blood Cell Transfusion Released by CHEST
October 22, 2024
Glenview, Illinois – The American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST) recently released a new clinical guideline on red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in critically ill adults. Published in the journal CHEST®, the guideline contains six evidence-based recommendations to provide a framework for clinicians to implement in their own facilities.
“While RBC transfusions can be lifesaving, they carry significant risks of adverse effects which can be severe and even life-threatening,” says Angel Coz Yataco, MD, FCCP, lead author on the guideline. “This guideline aims to standardize the approach to when transfusion is needed to mitigate risk while promoting judicious use of blood cells.”
Adopting a restrictive strategy could decrease the number of patients receiving RBC transfusions by approximately 40%. On a large scale, this could represent sparing half a million patients from RBC transfusions.
The recommendations of the guideline include:
- In critically ill patients, we recommend a restrictive RBC transfusion strategy over a permissive RBC transfusion strategy.
(Strong recommendation, moderate certainty of evidence)
- In critically ill patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding, we recommend a restrictive RBC transfusion strategy over a permissive RBC transfusion strategy.
(Strong recommendation, moderate certainty of evidence)
- In critically ill patients with acute coronary syndrome, we suggest against a restrictive RBC transfusion strategy.
(Conditional recommendation, low certainty of evidence)
The entire list of recommendations included in the new guideline can be accessed through the CHEST journal website.
About the American College of Chest Physicians
The American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST) is the global leader in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases. Its mission is to champion advanced clinical practice, education, communication, and research in chest medicine. It serves as an essential connection to clinical knowledge and resources for its 22,000+ members from around the world who provide patient care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. For information about the American College of Chest Physicians and its family of journals, including the flagship journal CHEST®, visit chestnet.org.