Transfusion Practice of Packed Red Blood Cells to Low Birth Weight Preterm Neonates in a Level-3 Neonatal Unit

Abstract

Background: 65% of low-birth-weight (LBW) infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) receive multiple transfusions mainly of packed red blood cells (PRBCs), supposedly steered by evidencebased guidelines. In addition to the absolute haemoglobin (Hb) level, transfusion depends on such factors as oxygen requirements, ventilation, and erythrocyte regenerative activity.