Asian Journal of Transfusion Science (Jan 2020)

Platelets transfusion in Greece: Where, when, why? A national survey

  • Serena Valsami,
  • Abraham Pouliakis,
  • Maria Gavalaki,
  • Aspasia Argyrou,
  • Evagelia Triantafillou,
  • Evagelia Arvanitopoulou,
  • Fotios Girtovitis,
  • Virginia Voulgaridou,
  • Aggeliki Megalou,
  • Paraskevi Chronopoulou,
  • Andreas Papachronis,
  • George Sakellarakis,
  • Eleftheria Zervou,
  • Christina Batsi,
  • Kalliopi Fountouli,
  • Aggelos Athanasopoulos,
  • Elias Kyriakou,
  • Afrodite Cheropoulou,
  • Anastasia Livada,
  • Konstantinos Lebessopoulos,
  • Maria Papakonstantinou,
  • Anthi Gafou,
  • Despina Katopi,
  • George Martinis,
  • Ioanna Dendrinou,
  • Hrysanthi Katharopoulou,
  • Marianna Politou,
  • Margarita Papadopoulou,
  • Paraskevi Papadopoulou,
  • Ekaterini Manaka,
  • Konstantina Paneta,
  • Chrissoula Alepi,
  • Christos Damaskos,
  • Nikolaos Garmpis,
  • Konstantinos Stamoulis,
  • Elisavet Grouzi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/ajts.AJTS_72_18
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 2
pp. 158 – 166

Abstract

Read online

Background: Platelet transfusion is among the most useful therapeutic tools in modern clinical settings which mean that ensuring an adequate supply is of paramount importance. Aim: The aim of our study was to record the use and wastage of platelet concentrates (PCs) in Greece, so as to come up with evidence-based interventions. Methods: The study was conducted during May and June 2015. We evaluated the use of random-donor platelets (RDPs) and single-donor apheresis platelets (SDPs). We analyzed such parameters as hospital department and diagnosis, indication for transfusion, PCs' age at the time of transfusion, and wastage rate. Results: We used data from 21 hospitals across the country. A total of 12,061 RDPs and 1189 SDPs were transfused, with an average of 4.84 (±2.72) and 1.12 (±2.73) units per episode, respectively. Most patients had been admitted to the internal medicine and hematology departments. The transfusions were mostly given prophylactically, usually in cases of acute leukemia, and mostly on the day before expiration. Wastage rate was 16.75% for RPDs and 2.70% for SDPs, primarily because of the expiration of the use-by date. Conclusions: This is the first national survey regarding platelet transfusion in Greece. Since most patients were admitted in internal medicine and hematology departments, we recommend that the staff of the abovementioned departments should undergo training on contemporary transfusion guidelines. Platelet discard rate could further be lowered through the centralization of inventory management along with the extension of the lifetime of PCs by means of emerging technologies.

Keywords