For the new study, the researchers examined the electronic anesthesia records of more than 48,000 surgical patients at The Johns Hopkins Hospital from February 2010 to August 2011. Overall, 2,981 patients (6.2 percent) were given blood transfusions during surgery. The researchers found wide variation among surgeons and among anesthesiologists, compared to their peers, and how quickly they order blood.
The researchers concluded that some clinicians are not caught up with recent research, which has shown surgical patients do no better, and may do worse, if given transfusions prematurely or unnecessarily. Proper use of blood transfusions may also alleviate the demand for blood, which is in scarce supply.
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