Physician Compliance With Platelet Usage Criteria

Abstract Context.—Platelet transfusions are used in clinical practice as prophylaxis or to treat bleeding thrombocytopenic patients. This procedure also carries risks and costs and must be allocated appropriately. Objective.—To evaluate physician compliance with the platelet transfusion criteria in our tertiary care academic institution. Design.—We evaluated platelet unit releases from the transfusion service for 4 months, and we retrieved pretransfusion platelet counts. Reasons for transfusion were obtained by reviewing patient charts and talking to clinicians. Compliance with hospital criteria for platelet use was determined. Results.—Platelets were given to 113 patients in 282 transfusion episodes. Criteria were not met for 32 (11%) of 282 platelet transfusions. Justifiable reasons for transfusion at platelet counts of greater than 10 × 103/μL included bleeding risk from oral ulcers, other risks of bleeding in patients who were transfused before discharge, and antiplatelet drug use in cardiac surgery p...