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. 2024 Sep 8;16(9):e68942.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.68942. eCollection 2024 Sep.

Improving Blood Transfusion Request Form Documentation: A Quality Improvement Project

Waddah Ahmed  1 , Ahmed Mohamed  2 , Abubakr Muhammed  3 , Abdalmahmoud Asadig Kanan Ahmed  3 , Sara Omer Mohamed Abdalla  3 , Abdelrahman Elfatih Elsheikh Abdelrahim  3 , Dina Hashim WahidEldin Osman  4 , Galaleldin Mohamed Abdeljalil Mohamed  5 , Alaa Mobarak Abdalla Elkhalifa  6 , Omer Mohamed Ibrahim Hamad  7 , Shimaa Abdallah Mukhtar Mohammed  8 , Suaad Bashary Saeed Ali  9 , Islam A A Mahmoud  10 , Ayman Hassan Elsiddig Mohamed  11
Affiliations

Improving Blood Transfusion Request Form Documentation: A Quality Improvement Project

Waddah Ahmed et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background: The transfusion quality improvement project (QIP) serves as a valuable tool for assessing and educating individuals who request blood components. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that each institution utilize a blood transfusion request form to ensure the effective conveyance of patient information to the hospital's blood bank. This QIP aimed to implement a transfusion request form and measure compliance with its use.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted at Al Managil Teaching Hospital, Sudan, from May 1 to August 3, 2024, to address the lack of standardized transfusion request forms. The study included three cycles involving pre-intervention analysis, two phases of intervention with training sessions, and post-intervention evaluations. The interventions focused on developing and implementing a new transfusion request form, training clinical physicians, and reinforcing the form's use. Data from 100 randomly selected transfusion request forms were analyzed for completeness and adherence.

Results: The study showed significant improvements in the completeness of transfusion request forms across three cycles. In the first cycle, no data were collected, highlighting the absence of standardized forms. During the second cycle, with the introduction of the new form, the completion rates varied: some fields, such as patient information and clinical details, were fully completed in 50 cases (100%), while critical clinical parameters, such as current hemoglobin (Hb) and platelet (PLT) levels, were completed in only four requests (8%). By the third cycle, there was a substantial increase in completion rates across all domains. For example, patient information fields achieved 100% completion in 50 cases, and clinical parameters saw significant improvement, with current Hb and PLT levels documented in 48 cases (96%). The mean percentage completion increased from 68.1% in the second cycle to 97.9% in the third cycle, demonstrating the effectiveness of the interventions and training sessions. Minor decreases were observed in health insurance documentation and certain clinical details, indicating areas for further improvement.

Conclusion: The systematic implementation and iterative evaluation of transfusion request forms significantly enhanced documentation completeness.

Keywords: blood bank; documentation completeness; mean completion rate; quality improvement project; transfusion request form.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Review Board at Al Managil Teaching Hospital issued approval SUD24/04/Apr-26. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mean compliance percentage in the second and third cycles
The data have been represented as %.
Figure 2
Figure 2. The new blood transfusion request form
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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