Evaluation of the impact of anesthesia and surgical assistants' education about Cross match/Transfusion (C/T) ratio in Imam KhomeiniHospital Complex of Tehran in 2018-2019- An interventional study

Quantitative and qualitative improvements in surgeries have increased the need for transfusions, leading to double pressure for proper blood storage and increasing the likelihood of unnecessary cross-match and high cross-match to transfusion ratio (C / T Ratio). In this study, we evaluated the role of anesthesia and surgical assistants training in reducing the C / T Ratio.

Between April 2018 and April 2019, sixty-two anesthesia and surgical assistants of different specialties in Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in Tehran were first trained on the amount of blood requested. Then we evaluated the effect of training on CT Ratio one month before training and one month after training by reviewing files and counting blood bank data. The significance is considered as p <0.05.

Twenty-one (33.9%) of 62 assistants were female. The mean C / T ratio before and after training was 3.87± 1.88 and 3.06 ±1.13, respectively which was significantly different. In control group, the mean C/T ratio before and after education was 3.59±0.91 and 3.75±0.77, respectively, that was not significantly different. In the group of female residents, the mean C / T ratio after training was significantly reduced (P = 0.03) while in the group of training male residents the mean C / T ratio before and after education did not change significantly (P: 0.44).

It seems that the supply and demand pattern of blood products in Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex as a referral center is not suitable which imposes extra costs on health system. It is recommended that transfusion request training courses and hemovigilance systems should be considered more seriously.