Overview of Blood Use in Adult Haematological Malignancies in Uyo
Keywords:
Haematological malignancies, Blood Use, Myelodysplastic syndrome, Polycythemia Vera, Essential ThrombocythemiaAbstract
Background: Patients with haematological malignancies (HMs) often receive a high number of units of blood, and transfusion practices for these cohorts of patients are increasingly being evaluated globally. However, to the best of our knowledge, studies on the transfusion statistics for this patient group in our environment are non-existent.
Aim: This study aimed to examine the frequency of blood use by adult patients with haematological malignancies managed at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) and to determine if there are any associations between the transfusion status and the haematological malignancies and age of the patients.
Methods: Data on age, sex, type of HM and frequency of blood use by HM patients at the UUTH from January 2020 to December 2023 were retrieved from the medical records. The results collated were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Windows Version 23.0 and presented in simple frequency tables. A total of 73 HM patients aged 20-89 years were included in the study, and 151 units of blood were used during the review period.
Results: Of the 12 different HMs recorded, patients with myelodysplastic syndrome received the highest transfusions 28(18.5%) while those with polycythaemia vera and essential thrombocythaemia received no transfusion (0%). There was a significant association between blood transfusion and type of HM but not with age (p = 0.0001 and 0.172 respectively).
Conclusion: This study presents an overview of blood use in adults with haematological malignancies. The implications of frequent transfusion of these patients are the shortage of blood supply owing to dwindling blood donor pool and increased incidence of blood transfusion
complications such as transfusion-transmissible infections and immunization. Also, the financial burden on the patients and their relatives is enormous, especially in our environment where the bulk of the blood donations is from remunerated donors.
