Frequency and Pattern of Noninfectious Adverse Transfusion Reactions at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Korea

Background: Although transfusion is a paramount life-saving therapy, there are multiple potential significant risks. Therefore, all adverse transfusion reaction (ATR) episodes require close monitoring. Using the computerized reporting system, we assessed the frequency and pattern of non-infectious ATRs. Methods: We analyzed two-year transfusion data from electronic medical records retrospectively. From March 2013 to February 2015, 364,569 units of blood were transfused. Of them, 334,582 (91.8%) records were identified from electronic nursing records. For the confirmation of ATRs by blood bank physicians, patients' electronic medical records were further evaluated. Results: According to the nursing records, the frequency of all possible transfusion-related events was 3.1%. After the blood bank physicians' review, the frequency was found to be 1.2%. The overall frequency of febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reactions (FNHTRs) to red blood cells (RBCs), platelet (PLT) components, and fresh frozen plasmas (FFPs) were 0.9%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively, and allergic reactions represented 0.3% (RBCs), 0.9% (PLTs), and 0.9% (FFPs), respectively. The pre-storage leukocyte reduction significantly decreased the frequency of FNHTRs during the transfusion of RBCs (P<0.01) or PLTs (P=0.01). Conclusions: The frequency of FNHTRs, allergic reactions, and "no reactions" were 22.0%, 17.0%, and 60.7%, respectively. Leukocyte-reduction was associated with a lower rate of FNHTRs, but not with that of allergic reactions. The development of an effective electronic reporting system of ATRs is important in quantifying transfusion-related adverse events. This type of reporting system can also accurately identify the underlying problems and risk factors to further the quality of transfusion care for patients.