Recommendations on Red Blood Cell transfusion support in children with hematologic and oncologic diagnoses from the pediatric critical care transfusion and anemia expertise initiative

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Marie E Steiner, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Nicole D Zantek, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Simon J Stanworth, NHS Blood and Transplant; Robert I Parker, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University; Stacey L Valentine, University of Massachusetts Medical School; Leslie E Lehmann, Children's Hospital Boston; Cassandra Josephson, Emory University; Scot T Bateman, University of Massachusetts Medical School; Naomi LC Luban, George Washington University Medical Center
• Language: English
• Date: 2018-01-01
• Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2018 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PCC.0000000000001610
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 9
• Start Page: S149
• End Page: S156
• Grant/Funding Information: CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation; National Institute of Health; Washington University Children’s Discovery Institute; Society for the Advancement of Blood Management, SABM-Haemonetics Research Starter Grant; University of Massachusetts Medical School; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• Keywords: Anemia, Hemolytic; Critical Care; Erythrocyte Transfusion; Erythrocyte Count; Neoplasms; Evidence-Based Medicine; Child; Thalassemia; Stem Cell Transplantation; Critical Illness; Humans; Anemia, Sickle Cell
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, General; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Objectives: To present the recommendations and supporting evidence for RBC transfusions in critically ill children with hema-tologic and oncologic disease jrom the Pediatric Critical Care Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative. Design: Consensus conference series of international, multidisciplinary experts in RBC transfusion management of critically ill children. Methods: The panel of 38 experts developed evidence-based and, when evidence was lacking, expert-based clinical recommendations and research priorities for RBC transfusions in critically ill children. The hematologic/oncologic subgroup included seven experts. Electronic searches were conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases jrom 1980 to May 2017. Agreement was obtained using the Research and Development/UCLA Appropriateness Method. Results were summarized using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation method. Results: The hematologic/oncologic subgroup developed 14 recommendations (seven clinical, seven research); all achieved greater than 80% agreement. In patients with sickle cell disease, Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative recommends: 1) RBC transfusion to achieve a target hemoglobin concentration of 10 g/dL rather than hemoglobin of less than 30% prior to surgical procedures requiring general anesthesia and 2) exchange transfusion over simple (nonexchange) transfusion if the child's condition is deteriorating (based on clinical judgment), otherwise a simple, nonexchange RBC transfusion is recommended. There is insufficient evidence to make recommendations on transfusion thresholds for patients with sickle cell disease prior to minor procedures, with acute stroke or with pulmonary hypertension. For patients with oncologic disease or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant, a hemoglobin concentration of 7-8 g/dL is recommended. Due to lack of evidence, research is needed to clarify the appropriate transfusion thresholds in these patients. Conclusions: Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative developed specific pediatric recommendations regarding RBC transfusion management in critically ill children with sickle cell disease, oncologic disease, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant and recommendations to help guide future research priorities.