A clinical and economic evaluation of red blood cell transfusions in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy

A clinical and economic evaluation of red blood cell (RBC) utilization in cancer patients during chemotherapy is described. Using a randomized sampling process, 100 patients who had received chemotherapy with or without cisplatin were selected (50 in each group). Multiple logistic regression was then used to identify risks factors for transfusion requirements. Twenty-five percent of patients in the cisplatin and 12% in the noncisplatin group received at least one blood transfusion during chemotherapy (p = .09). Depressed hemoglobin levels and cisplatin dosage were identified as risk factors for transfusion requirements. Combining all transfused patients revealed an overall cost of Can $599 (95% CI: $513-$683) per transfusion. The results of the current study indicated that anemia is a common complication of cancer chemotherapy that can be costly to manage.