Abstract
Objectives.- To determine the long-term trend in platelet consumption in a university hospital.
Materials and methods. - The annual consumption of platelets concentrate (PC) was analyzed over 23 years (1985-2007) in King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Results. - The total 23 years consumption was 100,466 units of PC. Consumption went through 3 phases: the first, 1985-1994: the annual consumption increased from 1706 to 5912 which coincided with the increase in the number of patient admissions; the second, 1994-2003:featured a remarkable drop (48.9%) in annual consumption while patient admission remained stable. There was a concurrent decline in platelet consumption and all-cause mortality/patient. Third phase: 2003-2007, the consumption increased to reach 5642 units/year in 2007. The Department of Medicine consumed (52%), followed by Pediatrics (21%), and General Surgery (16%).
Conclusion. - This audit uncovered evidence of inappropriate platelet consumption that reached 48.9% in the period 1994 to 2003, which coincided with widely publicized HIV scare that dominated blood transfusion during that period. We also found evidence suggesting that reducing platelet transfusion-could improve patient outcome. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.