Fredericks C, Kubasiak JC, Mentzer CJ, Yon JR. Massive transfusion: An update for the anesthesiologist. World J Anesthesiol 2017; 6(1): 14-21 [DOI: 10.5313/wja.v6.i1.14]
Corresponding Author of This Article
James R Yon, MD, Department of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Swedish Medical Center, 499 E Hampden Blvd., Suite 400, Englewood, CO 80113, United States. james.yon@healthonecares.com
Research Domain of This Article
Anesthesiology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Anesthesiol. Mar 27, 2017; 6(1): 14-21 Published online Mar 27, 2017. doi: 10.5313/wja.v6.i1.14
Massive transfusion: An update for the anesthesiologist
Charles Fredericks, John C Kubasiak, Caleb J Mentzer, James R Yon
Charles Fredericks, John C Kubasiak, Department of General Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, United States
Caleb J Mentzer, Department of Trauma, University of Miami Ryder Trauma Center, Miami, FL 79844, United States
James R Yon, Department of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Swedish Medical Center, Englewood, CO 80113, United States
Author contributions: Fredericks C, Kubasiak JC and Mentzer CJ each wrote sections of the paper; Yon JR performed the literature review and edited the paper in addition to writing a section of the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: James R Yon, MD, Department of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Swedish Medical Center, 499 E Hampden Blvd., Suite 400, Englewood, CO 80113, United States. james.yon@healthonecares.com
Telephone: +1-941-6185426
Received: August 29, 2016 Peer-review started: September 1, 2016 First decision: September 29, 2016 Revised: December 8, 2016 Accepted: December 16, 2016 Article in press: December 19, 2016 Published online: March 27, 2017
Abstract
Exsanguination from trauma, gastrointestinal bleeding, and obstetric hemorrhage remains a major source of mortality across the planet. Continued research into resuscitation strategies and evolving technology and blood product storage has allowed for patient to undergo very large volume transfusions, even to the point of replacing a patient’s blood volume several times over. As massive transfusions have become more common, more studies have been performed delineating the exact patient population that would benefit, start- and stop-points of transfusions, complications and avoidance of the same. We discuss these points and provide information and strategies for massive transfusion.
Core tip: Recognizing the patient who requires massive transfusion early is key to the most optimal outcome. Once recognized, massive transfusion protocols (MTP) should be initiated and continued until normal physiologic parameters are reached and definitive control of bleeding is achieved. Hospitals should develop their own MTP, guided by the literature, and according to their specific needs and patient populations.
