Successful implementation of a patient blood management programme in a lower middle-income state.

Background And Objectives: Transfusions are common, but their use is decreasing in some countries as a result of increased risk awareness and the implementation of patient blood management (PBM), an evidence-based approach to optimize patient outcomes. This study aimed to detail the implementation of PBM in a Brazilian state and its impact on transfusion rates and associated costs.

Materials And Methods: The PBM implementation involved several strategies: medical education, haematology consultation services, provision of intravenous iron and other medications, establishment of PBM and perioperative anaemia clinics, cell salvage and acute normovolaemic haemodilution, anaemia reference laboratories and rotational thromboelastometry.