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Blood Transfusion: Prevalence, Indications and Associated Factors in Children Presenting to a Tertiary Health Institution in Southeast Nigeria

Received: 15 March 2021     Accepted: 6 April 2021     Published: 13 April 2021
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Abstract

Blood is an essential component of paediatric care worldwide. Blood and blood products are scarce and expensive and may be associated with health hazards post-transfusion. This study aims at determining the prevalence, indications and associated factors of blood transfusion in children in an academic hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospectively review of all records of blood transfusions conducted at the Children’s Emergency and Paediatrics wards of the State University Teaching Hospital, Southeast Nigeria; from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2017. Results: The prevalence of blood transfusion was 7%. Total number of transfusions was 56. Male: female ratio was 0.8: 1. Median age of transfused children was 5 years (range 2 months to 12 years). Forty one (73.3%) of the transfused children were aged <3 years with 17 (30.4%) being less than 1 year. The most frequent indications for transfusion were severe malaria 36 (64.3%) and sepsis 12 (21.4%). Sedimented red blood cells, 50 (89.3%), was the most frequently transfused blood product while whole blood constituted 11.7%. Case fatality among the transfused children was 16%. Discussion: Blood transfusion rate of 7% is higher than most previous studies, with the most frequent indication being severe malaria. Sedimented red blood cells was the most frequently transfused blood product. Application of malaria control measures is still needed.

Published in American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13
Page(s) 53-56
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Blood Transfusion, Prevalence, Indications, Southeast Nigeria

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Chukwuemeka Ngozi Onyearugha, Nneka Chioma Okoronkwo, Prince Ezenwa Onyemachi. (2021). Blood Transfusion: Prevalence, Indications and Associated Factors in Children Presenting to a Tertiary Health Institution in Southeast Nigeria. American Journal of Pediatrics, 7(2), 53-56. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13

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    ACS Style

    Chukwuemeka Ngozi Onyearugha; Nneka Chioma Okoronkwo; Prince Ezenwa Onyemachi. Blood Transfusion: Prevalence, Indications and Associated Factors in Children Presenting to a Tertiary Health Institution in Southeast Nigeria. Am. J. Pediatr. 2021, 7(2), 53-56. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13

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    AMA Style

    Chukwuemeka Ngozi Onyearugha, Nneka Chioma Okoronkwo, Prince Ezenwa Onyemachi. Blood Transfusion: Prevalence, Indications and Associated Factors in Children Presenting to a Tertiary Health Institution in Southeast Nigeria. Am J Pediatr. 2021;7(2):53-56. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13,
      author = {Chukwuemeka Ngozi Onyearugha and Nneka Chioma Okoronkwo and Prince Ezenwa Onyemachi},
      title = {Blood Transfusion: Prevalence, Indications and Associated Factors in Children Presenting to a Tertiary Health Institution in Southeast Nigeria},
      journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {53-56},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20210702.13},
      abstract = {Blood is an essential component of paediatric care worldwide. Blood and blood products are scarce and expensive and may be associated with health hazards post-transfusion. This study aims at determining the prevalence, indications and associated factors of blood transfusion in children in an academic hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospectively review of all records of blood transfusions conducted at the Children’s Emergency and Paediatrics wards of the State University Teaching Hospital, Southeast Nigeria; from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2017. Results: The prevalence of blood transfusion was 7%. Total number of transfusions was 56. Male: female ratio was 0.8: 1. Median age of transfused children was 5 years (range 2 months to 12 years). Forty one (73.3%) of the transfused children were aged <3 years with 17 (30.4%) being less than 1 year. The most frequent indications for transfusion were severe malaria 36 (64.3%) and sepsis 12 (21.4%). Sedimented red blood cells, 50 (89.3%), was the most frequently transfused blood product while whole blood constituted 11.7%. Case fatality among the transfused children was 16%. Discussion: Blood transfusion rate of 7% is higher than most previous studies, with the most frequent indication being severe malaria. Sedimented red blood cells was the most frequently transfused blood product. Application of malaria control measures is still needed.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Blood Transfusion: Prevalence, Indications and Associated Factors in Children Presenting to a Tertiary Health Institution in Southeast Nigeria
    AU  - Chukwuemeka Ngozi Onyearugha
    AU  - Nneka Chioma Okoronkwo
    AU  - Prince Ezenwa Onyemachi
    Y1  - 2021/04/13
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13
    T2  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JF  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JO  - American Journal of Pediatrics
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    EP  - 56
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    SN  - 2472-0909
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210702.13
    AB  - Blood is an essential component of paediatric care worldwide. Blood and blood products are scarce and expensive and may be associated with health hazards post-transfusion. This study aims at determining the prevalence, indications and associated factors of blood transfusion in children in an academic hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospectively review of all records of blood transfusions conducted at the Children’s Emergency and Paediatrics wards of the State University Teaching Hospital, Southeast Nigeria; from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2017. Results: The prevalence of blood transfusion was 7%. Total number of transfusions was 56. Male: female ratio was 0.8: 1. Median age of transfused children was 5 years (range 2 months to 12 years). Forty one (73.3%) of the transfused children were aged <3 years with 17 (30.4%) being less than 1 year. The most frequent indications for transfusion were severe malaria 36 (64.3%) and sepsis 12 (21.4%). Sedimented red blood cells, 50 (89.3%), was the most frequently transfused blood product while whole blood constituted 11.7%. Case fatality among the transfused children was 16%. Discussion: Blood transfusion rate of 7% is higher than most previous studies, with the most frequent indication being severe malaria. Sedimented red blood cells was the most frequently transfused blood product. Application of malaria control measures is still needed.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Paediatrics, Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, Nigeria

  • Department of Paediatrics, Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, Nigeria

  • Department of Community Medicine, Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, Nigeria

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