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. 2020 Jul-Dec;14(2):158-166.
doi: 10.4103/ajts.AJTS_72_18. Epub 2020 Dec 19.

Platelets transfusion in Greece: Where, when, why? A national survey

Serena Valsami  1 , Abraham Pouliakis  2 , Maria Gavalaki  3 , Aspasia Argyrou  4 , Evagelia Triantafillou  5 , Evagelia Arvanitopoulou  5 , Fotios Girtovitis  6 , Virginia Voulgaridou  6 , Aggeliki Megalou  7 , Paraskevi Chronopoulou  7 , Andreas Papachronis  3 , George Sakellarakis  3 , Eleftheria Zervou  8 , Christina Batsi  8 , Kalliopi Fountouli  9 , Aggelos Athanasopoulos  10 , Elias Kyriakou  11 , Afrodite Cheropoulou  12 , Anastasia Livada  13 , Konstantinos Lebessopoulos  14 , Maria Papakonstantinou  15 , Anthi Gafou  4 , Despina Katopi  16 , George Martinis  17 , Ioanna Dendrinou  18 , Hrysanthi Katharopoulou  19 , Marianna Politou  1 , Margarita Papadopoulou  20 , Paraskevi Papadopoulou  21 , Ekaterini Manaka  22 , Konstantina Paneta  23 , Chrissoula Alepi  24 , Christos Damaskos  25 , Nikolaos Garmpis  25 , Konstantinos Stamoulis  26 , Elisavet Grouzi  13
Affiliations

Platelets transfusion in Greece: Where, when, why? A national survey

Serena Valsami et al. Asian J Transfus Sci. 2020 Jul-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Platelet transfusion is among the most useful therapeutic tools in modern clinical settings which mean that ensuring an adequate supply is of paramount importance.

Aim: The aim of our study was to record the use and wastage of platelet concentrates (PCs) in Greece, so as to come up with evidence-based interventions.

Methods: The study was conducted during May and June 2015. We evaluated the use of random-donor platelets (RDPs) and single-donor apheresis platelets (SDPs). We analyzed such parameters as hospital department and diagnosis, indication for transfusion, PCs' age at the time of transfusion, and wastage rate.

Results: We used data from 21 hospitals across the country. A total of 12,061 RDPs and 1189 SDPs were transfused, with an average of 4.84 (±2.72) and 1.12 (±2.73) units per episode, respectively. Most patients had been admitted to the internal medicine and hematology departments. The transfusions were mostly given prophylactically, usually in cases of acute leukemia, and mostly on the day before expiration. Wastage rate was 16.75% for RPDs and 2.70% for SDPs, primarily because of the expiration of the use-by date.

Conclusions: This is the first national survey regarding platelet transfusion in Greece. Since most patients were admitted in internal medicine and hematology departments, we recommend that the staff of the abovementioned departments should undergo training on contemporary transfusion guidelines. Platelet discard rate could further be lowered through the centralization of inventory management along with the extension of the lifetime of PCs by means of emerging technologies.

Keywords: National; platelet; platelet products; platelets transfusion; survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentages of RDPs and RDPs transfused according to transfusion day. RDPs = Random-donors platelets, SDPs = Single-donor platelets
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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