Lesson 272: PreAnesthetic Assessment of the Patient Who Has Had Multiple Blood Transfusions

Course Authors:

Sabrina D. Bhagwan, MD
Resident, Department of Anesthesiology, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York

 

Registration Fee: $15.00
2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
available until March 31
, 2009

Please be sure to read registration information below.

 

Registration links are at the bottom of the page.

Reviewed by:

Patricia A. Shi, MD
Assistant Professor, Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York

Review Date: December, 2007 

NEEDS STATEMENT

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a relatively common condition, and anesthesiologists can expect to often encounter patients with either the disease or a carrier trait. Many patients admitted for surgery have received previous blood transfusions, and non-A/non-B antibodies to red blood cell proteins are frequently detected. With technologic advances and the recognition that increases in morbidity and mortality directly correlate with the number of blood units infused, the identification and stratification of antibodies have become extremely important. The practicing anesthesiologist, especially in emergent cases, must manage blood replacement safely, and also be aware of controversies regarding perioperative transfusions in these patients. This topic has been identified by committee as required information for anesthesiologists.

     
CASE HISTORY

A 33-year-old African American woman with SCD presented for emergency cholecystectomy. She had a history of pain crises and acute chest syndrome that required frequent hospitalizations—the most recent being 2 months previously, during which red cell exchange was required. Her hematocrit was 24%. The decision was made to administer a transfusion before surgery. The blood bank technician reported that analysis of the patient’s blood sample sent from the emergency room indicated the presence of antibodies.

   

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Cite the incidence of SCD.

  2. Distinguish between SCD and sickle cell trait.

  3. Explain how blood is typed and crossmatched.

  4. Tabulate the antibodies commonly found in blood.

  5. Identify common problems in crossmatching blood.

  6. Outline a plan for the anesthetic management of patients with identified antibodies.

  7. Discuss the complications of transfusing blood with antibodies.

  8. Discuss current issues pertaining to preoperative blood transfusions in patients with SCD.

  9. Recognize complications associated with mismatched blood transfusions.

  10. List the variants of SCD.

TARGET AUDIENCE:  Anesthesiologists

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THIS COURSE

The estimated time to complete this activity is 2 hours. There are two options for completing this CME activity.

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Accreditation Statement

Mount Sinai School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation: The Mount Sinai School of Medicine designates each educational activity for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

It is the policy of Mount Sinai School of Medicine to ensure objectivity, balance, independence, and scientific rigor in all CME-sponsored educational activities. All faculty participating in the planning or implementation of a sponsored activity are expected to disclose to the audience any relevant financial relationships and to assist in resolving any conflict of interest that may arise from the relationship. Presenters must also make a meaningful disclosure to the audience of their discussions of unlabeled or unapproved drugs or devices.

Disclosures

The authors, reviewer, and editor have no relationships with pharmaceutical companies or manufacturers of products to disclose. This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents for the treatment of disease. Some uses of these agents have not been approved by the FDA. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

CONTACT INFORMATION

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CALL FOR WRITERS

If you would like to write a CME lesson in Anesthesiology News, please send an e-mail to Elizabeth A.M. Frost, MD, at ElzFrost@aol.com

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