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Author Archives: Timothy Hannon, MD, MBA
To predonate or not to predonate, that is the question
Last’s week’s Journal of the American Medical Association included a clinical crossroads case study on autologous predonation (1). The scenario was a relatively healthy, non-anemic woman (“Mrs. C”) who was scheduled for elective knee replacement surgery and was asking for … Continue reading
Guiding Transfusion Guidelines: Part 2
Last month’s article on Guiding Transfusion Guidelines: Part 1 covered the general concepts of implementing clinical practice guidelines. Appropriate transfusion decisions are a critically important and often overlooked part of the transfusion safety chain from donor to patient1, so evidence-based … Continue reading
Guiding Transfusion Guidelines: Part 1
February is my favorite month to discuss improving blood utilization because it is the anniversary of the Transfusion Requirements in Critical Care (TRICC) trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on February 11th, 1999.1 In this landmark study2, … Continue reading
The Heartbreak of Blood Transfusions
Patients with ischemic heart disease have always been of special concern for transfusion therapy. There are a number of observational studies showing that moderate to severe anemia in patients with cardiac disease is associated with adverse outcomes, including higher mortality … Continue reading
Posted in Appropriate Blood Utilization
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The New Rules of Blood Supply and Demand: Time for a Vein-to-Vein Value Chain
As a capstone exercise for my MBA, I wrote a book chapter on transfusion economics. It was a real eye-opener for me as I calculated the total cost of blood products, which can be 4 to 8 times the purchase … Continue reading
Posted in Stewardship
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Code Red: Labor and Delivery
As an anesthesiologist, I have always said that obstetric anesthesia is the best of times and the worst of times. It often seems that pregnant women are happier to see me than to see their obstetrician, because I am the … Continue reading
Posted in Patient Safety
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A Washed Cell is a Happy Cell
I recall fondly a button that my early blood management mentor, Dr. Paul Potter, used to wear on his lab coat with that particular saying. Dr. Potter was a staff anesthesiologist at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, and he … Continue reading
Blood Money
In the current environment of healthcare reform, the pressure for cost savings and cost effective healthcare has never been greater. As I define it, blood management is about quality, safety and stewardship, with a goal to ensure the careful and … Continue reading
Posted in Stewardship
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The Importance of Effective Blood Utilization Committees
February is always a good month to talk about blood utilization oversight because it is the anniversary of the Transfusion Requirements in Critical Care (TRICC) trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on February 11th, 1999.1 In this … Continue reading
Posted in Appropriate Blood Utilization
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Trauma Blood Management: Avoiding the Collateral Damage of Trauma Resuscitation Protocols
Transfusion therapy has come full cycle in Iraq and Afghanistan as fresh whole blood (FWB) use has again found a place in the resuscitation of military casualties. The use of equal ratios of packed red blood cells, plasma and platelets … Continue reading
