Tag Archives: transfusion

When should we transfuse preterm babies, and why? Redux.

Posted on 5 January 2021 by Keith Barrington

The TOP trial has just been published in the FPNEJM (Kirpalani H, et al. Higher or Lower Hemoglobin Transfusion Thresholds for Preterm Infants. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(27):2639-51). It was a multicenter, non-masked RCT among 1800 babies of less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

When should we transfuse preterm babies, and why?

Posted on 13 August 2020 by Keith Barrington

I was one of the investigators in the PINT trial (Kirpalani H, et al. The Premature Infants in Need of Transfusion (PINT) study: a randomized, controlled trial of a restrictive (low) versus liberal (high) transfusion threshold for extremely low birth … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Do transfusions trigger NEC? or does anemia?

Posted on 16 April 2019 by Keith Barrington

I am still unconvinced that transfusion associated NEC is a real thing, I think it is possibly a real phenomenon, but I am not sure how to know for sure. Some of the best evidence I think comes from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Platelet transfusions don’t close the PDA, but they may increase IVH

Posted on 13 April 2019 by Keith Barrington

I would never have actually thought to ask the question whether platelet transfusion might close the PDA, although early thrombocytopenia is associated with persistent PDA, and platelet plugs seem to be part of the mechanism of closure. A group in … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

At last, something men are better at than women!

Posted on 28 May 2018 by Keith Barrington

That is, giving blood for babies, at least maybe. The introduction to this new publication notes something that I was not aware of, that plasma donated by women is associated with a substantially greater frequency of transfusion related complications than … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The last word on delayed cord clamping in the preterm? part 3.

Posted on 10 November 2017 by Keith Barrington

Lo and behold. Fogarty M, et al. Delayed Versus Early Umbilical Cord Clamping for Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017. Some of the authors of the APTS trial have performed an updated systematic review, … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The last word on delayed cord clamping in the preterm? Part 2.

Posted on 8 November 2017 by Keith Barrington

I mentioned the second trial I wanted to discuss at the beginning of part 1. Duley L, et al. Randomised trial of cord clamping and initial stabilisation at very preterm birth. Archives of disease in childhood Fetal and neonatal edition. … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The last word on delayed cord clamping for preterms? Part 1.

Posted on 7 November 2017 by Keith Barrington

The APTS (Australian placental transfusion study) trial has just appeared on line. This was a high-quality multicenter, international RCT of immediate cord clamping (less than 10 seconds) compared to delayed clamping (60 seconds) for babies born less than 32 weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Does erythropoietin improve preterm babies development?

Posted on 15 March 2016 by Keith Barrington

Ohls RK, et al. Preschool Assessment of Preterm Infants Treated With Darbepoetin and Erythropoietin. Pediatrics. 2016;137(3):1-9. Robin Ohls has been working on Erythropoietin, and its longer acting analogue darbepoietin, for many years now. As well as demonstrating that it stimulates … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Do Blood transfusions trigger NEC? This month the answer is no.

Posted on 16 September 2015 by Keith Barrington

OK, not exactly this month, but “towards the end of last year” wouldn’t have been as good a title. Three case-control studies, with some differences in design and implementation, but all 3 with the same result, no evidence that red … Continue reading →

Posted in Neonatal Research | Tagged , | 1 Comment