Researchers have found that transfusions using fresh red blood cells—cells that have spent seven days or less in storage—are no more beneficial than older red blood cells in reducing the risk of organ failure or death... Read More

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a once-daily pill for sickle cell disease that works in an entirely new way — by boosting hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule found in red blood cells. The novel... Read More

Based on study of more than 28,000 TJA patients, presurgical ABO blood group testing looks like an inexpensive way to identify patents at increased risk for symptomatic postoperative VTE. Prophylaxis regimens can dramatically... Read More

Cultures of arterial catheter–drawn blood are reliable for the detection of bloodstream infection in PICUs. The study group consisted of 138 patients admitted to the general or cardiac PICU in 2014–2015 who met the following... Read More

Among patients with severe manifestations of sepsis, initiation of empirical antimicrobial therapy significantly reduces the sensitivity of blood cultures drawn shortly after treatment initiation. Of 3,164 participants screened,... Read More

Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a major cause of death in developed countries and the detection of microorganisms is essential in managing patients. Despite major progress has been made to improve identification of microorganisms,... Read More

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH; Boston, USA), Harvard Medical School (HMS; Boston, MA, USA), and other institutions conducted a trial to see if treating stored packed sheep RBCs with NO before transfusion... Read More

A new treatment may diminish a dangerous side effect associated with transfusions of red blood cells (RBCs) known as pulmonary hypertension, an elevated blood pressure in the lungs and heart that can lead to heart failure.... Read More

Trials in Australia could be signalling the way ahead for a new role for remotely piloted aircraft in the air medical sphere, as James Paul Wallis reports. Drones have long since proved their worth as an aerial search tool... Read More

Arterial catheters may serve as an additional source for blood cultures in children when peripheral venipuncture is challenging. The aim of the study was to evaluate the accuracy of cultures obtained through indwelling arterial... Read More

Optimal fluid management of critically ill patients with or at risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) is still uncertain. Now a new prospective study from India confirms that patients with negative fluid balance live longer.... Read More

Intensive treatment to lower systolic (top number) blood pressure to below 120 would save more than 100,000 lives per year in the United States, say scientists. Two thirds of the lives saved would be men and two thirds would... Read More

Lower thresholds for blood transfusions during cardiac surgery have proven to be safe and provide good patient outcomes compared to traditional thresholds, according to the largest research study ever performed in this area.... Read More

Blood transfusions are common in critically ill patients; two in five adults admitted to an ICU receive at least one transfusion during their hospitalization. Recently, there has been growing concern about the potential dangers... Read More

In the first large study to look at how blood transfusions from previously pregnant women affect recipients’ health, researchers discovered men under 50 were 1.5 times more likely to die in the three years following... Read More