A Well-Designed Online Transfusion Reaction Reporting System Improves the Estimation of Transfusion Reaction Incidence and Quality of Care in Transfusion Practice

Abstract

Recognizing and reporting a transfusion reaction is important in transfusion practice. However, the actual incidence of transfusion reactions is frequently underestimated. We designed an online transfusion reaction reporting system for nurses who take care of transfusion recipients. The common management before and after transfusion and the 18 most common transfusion reactions were itemized as tick boxes. We found the overall documented incidence of transfusion reaction increased dramatically, from 0.21% to 0.61% per unit of blood, after we started using an online reporting system. Overall, 94% (30/32) of nurses took only 1 week to become familiar with the new system, and 88% (28/32) considered the new system helpful in improving the quality of clinical transfusion care. By using an intranet connection, blood bank physicians can also identify patients who are having a reaction and provide appropriate recommendations immediately. A well-designed online reporting system may improve the ability to estimate the incidence of transfusion reactions and the quality of transfusion care.

Toward Meaningful Care Plan Clinical Decision Support

“…The CDS nursing studies have focused on: adherence to specific guidelines (Campion, Waitman, Lorenzi, May, & Gadd, 2011; Dumont & Bourguignon, 2012; Sward, Orme, Sorenson, Baumann, & Morris, 2008; Welch et al, 2015); single condition nursing diagnostic decision making (Fick, Steis, Mion, & Walls, 2011; Lee et al, 2009; Sawyer et al, 2011; Welch et al, 2015); medication dosing (Campion et al, 2011; Dumont & Bourguignon, 2012; Sward, Orme, Sorenson, Baumann, & Morris, 2008); supporting situational awareness (Dowding et al, 2009; Dumont & Bourguignon, 2012; Sward et al, 2008; Welch et al, 2015); and triage decision making (Dowding et al, 2009; Ernesäter, Holmström, & Engström, 2009; Lee et al, 2009). Findings provide preliminary evidence that nursing CDS can improve accuracy (Lee et al, 2009; Yeh et al, 2011) and efficiency of nursing care (Effken, Loeb, Kang, & Lin, 2008; Sawyer et al, 2011) and patient outcomes (Ruland et al, 2010; Welch et al, 2015). …”

Evaluation of the in‐hospital hemovigilance by introduction of the information technology–based system

“…The reported frequency of adverse reactions in the IT‐based reporting system was significantly higher (2.18%) than in the paper‐based reporting system (0.20%). Yeh and colleagues described a similar trend, where the reported frequency of adverse reactions increased from 0.21% to 0.61% after a change in the reporting procedure from a paper‐based reporting system to an IT‐based reporting system. However, Yeh and colleagues did not specifically report the frequencies of reaction after transfusion for each blood component nor report the frequencies in relation to the severity of reaction.…”

Creation and validation of a checklist for blood transfusion in children

“…As for transfusion reactions, we observed that they affect lesser than 1% of patients (24) . The most common clinical manifestations include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, flushing, itching, urticaria, respiratory whistle, dyspnea, headache, hypertension, chest pain and back pain, circulatory collapse, respiratory insufficiency, and shock (25) .…”