Prevalence of adverse transfusion reactions and their association with clinical characteristics in a blood bank in Medellín

Abstract

Introducción:Blood transfusion is a therapeutic procedure in which a blood component is administered from one individual to another. This procedure is not exempt from generating adverse reactions (ATR) that are unwanted and unexpected responses that occur during or after the transfusion. Objective: to estimate the prevalence of adverse transfusional reactions and their association with clinical characteristics in a blood bank in Medellín, Colombia. Methods: a descriptive study of 9576 patients who required blood transfusions from the years 2014 to 2018 was done. A secondary source of information was used from which demographic and clinical variables, the results of pre-transfusion tests, and transfusion reactions were taken. The information was analyzed with absolute and relative frequencies and their 95% confidence interval. The bivariate analysis was done with Pearson's Chi-square statistic. Results: adverse transfusional reactions (ATR) were developed in 1.1% (95% CI 0.88–1.31) of patients, presenting a predominance of allergic reactions, circulatory overload, and non-hemolytic febrile reactions. The prevalence of ATR was higher among those aged 19 to 26 years old (2.4% (95% CI 1.1–4.6), in patients with diseases of the genitourinary system 1.6% (95% CI 0.7–3.2) and treated by internal medicine 1.7% (95% CI 1.3–2.3). Conclusion: The prevalence of ATR found in this study shows discrepancies with that described in other countries and highlights the need to strengthen hemovigilance systems in each context. In addition, it reflects the importance of monitoring patient safety processes at the level of the quality of the blood components to be transfused, the evaluation of risk factors in the recipient, and the technical errors that may occur during the procedure.