Safe Blood Transfusion Practices among Nurses in a Major Referral Center in Ghana.

Andrews Adjei Druye,Agnes Asare Bediako,Rasheed Ofosu-Poku

doi:10.1155/2021/6739329

Andrews Adjei Druye, Agnes Asare Bediako + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6739329

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Abstract

Errors in transfusion of blood and blood products can lead to preventable morbidity and mortality. Nurses constitute a significant aspect of the transfusion process as they are the last in the chain of getting blood directly to the patient. They must, therefore, be conversant with the current standard of national and international guidelines on blood transfusion and appropriate management of adverse transfusion events. This study assesses the knowledge and practices of blood transfusion safety among nurses at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed, and structured questionnaire (Routine Blood Transfusion Knowledge Questionnaire) was used to collect data from 279 nurses from seven clinical directorates of the hospital. The data were processed with Stata version 14.0. Variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and relationships were drawn using inferential statistics. Over 90% of the respondents had a minimum of a diploma in nursing or midwifery, 63% had performed blood transfusion at least 5 times, and 46% had never received any training on blood transfusion. The mean score obtained in all four categories of blood transfusion knowledge assessed was 29, with 54% of the respondents scoring below the mean. The highest overall score on knowledge was 53%. This indicates that nurses had poor knowledge regarding safe blood transfusion practices as stipulated in the clinical guidelines for blood transfusion by Ghana's National Blood Service. There was no statistically significant relationship between training/experience and knowledge of safe blood transfusion practices. Regular and continuous update training and audit are needed to safeguard patient safety during blood transfusion.

Highlights

An important aspect of routine clinical practice is transfusion of blood and blood products, on account of the lifesaving therapeutic benefits they offer [1]
Participants held a minimum qualification of diploma in nursing or midwifery and as such were expected to have the technical know-how relating to the entire blood transfusion process, especially in all issues relating to the practice of nursing or midwifery
Over 90% of the 279 respondents had a Diploma or Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing or Midwifery, 46% had never participated in any kind of training or professional development session on blood transfusion, and 63% had performed blood transfusion at least 5 times

Summary

Introduction

An important aspect of routine clinical practice is transfusion of blood and blood products, on account of the lifesaving therapeutic benefits they offer [1]. Facilities must have established safe blood transfusion practice guidelines so that the entire process involved in availability and transfusion of blood is well monitored, managed, and coordinated [4]. E process of transfusion consists of five interrelated phases: blood grouping and cross-matching, patient preparation before blood bag collection, blood pack collection, pretransfusion initiation of nursing responsibilities, and posttransfusion nursing care [5]. Four of these phases are relevant to routine nursing practice. Most studies have found that the majority of adverse transfusion reactions is related to preventable human errors [6,7,8]

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