How Well are Hospitals Preventing Iatrogenic HIV?: A Study of the Appropriateness of Blood Transfusions in Three Hospitals in the Ashanti Region, Ghana

Abstract

A study on the appropriateness of blood and blood product transfusions took place in three hospitals over a 3-week period in July/August 1990 in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Clinical records of all blood transfusion recipients within the period were examined for the appropriateness of the transfusions based on preset criteria. Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) of all blood transfusion episodes in the hospitals were avoidable according to these criteria. Surgical practices were associated, perhaps habitually, with many more avoidable blood transfusions than non-surgical medical practices. The need to minimize the use of transfusion therapy is reemphasized since human immunodeficiency virus screening is imperfect. There is the need for hospitals to develop reasonable, practical guidelines for transfusions in all departments.