Abstract
Background: Two million transfusions are performed in Spain every year. These come at a high economic price for the health system, increasing the morbidity and mortality rates. The way of obtaining the hemoglobin concentration value is via invasive and intermittent methods, the results of which take time to obtain. The drawbacks of this method mean that some transfusions are unnecessary. New continuous noninvasive hemoglobin measurement technology can save unnecessary transfusions. Methods: A prospective study was carried out with a historical control of two homogeneous groups. The control group used the traditional hemoglobin measurement methodology. The experimental group used the new continuous hemoglobin measurement technology. The difference was analyzed by comparing the transfused units of the groups. The economic savings was calculated by multiplying the cost of a transfusion by the difference in units, taking into account measurement costs. Results: The percentage of patients needing a transfusion decreased by 7.4%, and the number of transfused units per patient by 12.56%. Economic savings per patient were €20.59. At the national level, savings were estimated to be 13,500 transfusions (€1.736 million). Conclusions: Constant monitoring of the hemoglobin level significantly reduces the need for blood transfusions. By using this new measurement technology, health care facilities can significantly reduce costs and improve care quality.
Highlights
Blood transfusions are common practice in healthcare facilities, where up to 20% of patients who have undergone surgery and 35% of patients in intensive care units receive at least one blood transfusion [1,2].Sensors 2018, 18, 1367; doi:10.3390/s18051367 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors necessary in terms of care and its quality, these transfusions involve significant costs.In 2008, four different studies were carried out in the United States which concluded that the costs of blood bags alone varied between $332 and $717 [3,4,5,6]
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the use of the new technology to continuously measure hemoglobin in patients undergoing surgeries which involve significant blood loss
The percentage of patients undergoing a transfusion decreased from 48.7% to 45.1%, or in other words, a 7.4% reduction
Summary
In 2008, four different studies were carried out in the United States which concluded that the costs of blood bags alone varied between $332 and $717 [3,4,5,6]. These studies only analyzed the cost of the blood bag, not the entire transfusion. The idea was to establish the total cost of a blood transfusion Applying this new methodology, the costs related to transfusions increased considerably compared to the first studies and were more in the range of $522 to $1183, depending on the country studied. The difference was analyzed by comparing the transfused units of the groups
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