Red Blood Cell Transfusion

Abstract

Letters20 November 2012Red Blood Cell TransfusionHarvey G. Klein, MD and Charles Natanson, MDHarvey G. Klein, MDFrom National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.Search for more papers by this author and Charles Natanson, MDFrom National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-157-10-201211200-00019 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Carson and colleagues' guideline (1) for the AABB of adhering to a “restrictive” transfusion threshold that relies on a hemoglobin level of 7 to 8 g/dL or less for hemodynamically stable patients is well-intentioned but problematic. We are not surprised that the editorial (2) accompanying this proposed guideline arrives at a different conclusion—one that we agree with. We also believe that transfusion thresholds should be titrated on the basis of many important individual patient laboratory and physiologic variables. Why the disparity after considering the same decade of clinical experience and trial data? The weaknesses of the most ...