Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Patient blood management: A solution for South Africa

2019; Health and Medical Publishing Group; Volume: 109; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.7196/samj.2019.v109i7.13859

2078-5135

Jackie Thomson, Axel Hofmann, C Barrett, A Beeton, Gregory Bellairs, L Boretti, Marius Coetzee, Shannon L. Farmer, M Gibbs, H. Gombotz, Caroline Hilton, Chris Kassianides, Vernon Louw, Christina Lundgren, Johnny Mahlangu, Colin Noel, Vanitha Rambiritch, F Schneider, Estelle Verburgh, P-L Wessels, P. L. WESSELS, R D Wise, A Shander on behalf of the South African Patie,

Trauma, Hemostasis, Coagulopathy, Resuscitation

For more than 70 years the default therapy for anaemia and blood loss was mostly transfusion. Accumulating evidence demonstrates a significant dose-dependent relationship between transfusion and adverse outcomes. This and other transfusion-related challenges led the way to a new paradigm. Patient blood management (PBM) is the application of evidence-based practices to optimise patient outcomes by managing and preserving the patient's own blood. 'Real-world' studies have shown that PBM improves patient outcomes and saves money. The prevalence of anaemia in adult South Africans is 31% in females and 17% in males. Improving the management of anaemia will firstly improve public health, secondly relieve the pressure on the blood supply, and thirdly improve the productivity of the nation's workforce. While high-income countries are increasingly implementing PBM, many middle- and low-income countries are still trying to upscale their transfusion services. The implementation of PBM will improve South Africa's health status while saving costs.