Blood transfusion for gastrointestinal bleeding.

Link to article at PubMed

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Blood transfusion for gastrointestinal bleeding.

N Engl J Med. 2013 Jan 3;368(1):75-6

Authors: Laine L

Abstract

Gastrointestinal bleeding accounts for more than 450,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States(1) and is a frequent indication for red-cell transfusion. Blood transfusions are given to 43% of patients hospitalized with upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the United Kingdom(2) and to 21% of patients hospitalized with lower gastrointestinal bleeding in the United States.(3) Transfusion practices for patients with gastrointestinal bleeding have fluctuated over the past 100 years. Avoidance of transfusions early in the 20th century, owing to concern that increased blood pressure would induce rebleeding, gave way to more liberal use of transfusions,(4) and a hemoglobin threshold for transfusion of 10 . . .

PMID: 23281980 [PubMed - in process]

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