Bedside electronic transfusion checks (BETC) may help make the transfusion process easier and safer for hospital staff and patients, according to a survey published in Vox Sanguinis.
Although the study did not focus specifically on fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), accurate bedside checks can matter for newborns who may need carefully matched blood products.
Transfusions depend on several safety checks, including confirming the patient’s identity and making sure blood samples or components are correctly matched at the bedside. Electronic systems use barcode scanning to support these steps and reduce the chance of human error.
Read more about FNAIT treatment and care
To understand how the system worked in daily practice, researchers surveyed health care workers at three large London hospitals after training and again six months after routine use. The first survey included 2,085 respondents, and the follow-up survey included 514.
Ratings became more favorable after six months of routine electronic check use. For blood sample labeling, the share of health care workers giving positive ratings increased from 89% to 94% for ease of use and from 89% to 95% for accuracy.
Most respondents also said the electronic system would reduce mislabeled samples, a perception that remained high in both surveys.
The system also appeared to help with blood administration. After six months of routine use, 89% of health care workers gave positive ratings for improving patient care, up from 77% after training. More respondents also gave positive ratings for time savings and traceability of blood components.
Overall satisfaction with the electronic system was high in both surveys. For pre-transfusion checks, 86.6% of health care workers in the first survey and 83.4% in the follow-up survey gave the system a high satisfaction score, between eight and 10 on a 10-point scale.
“BETC was associated with significantly greater clinical staff satisfaction than manual transfusion checks, providing large-scale evidence for their adoption to enhance transfusion safety, efficiency and staff experience,” the researchers concluded.
Several limitations may have affected the results. The follow-up survey had a lower response rate than the first survey, and the researchers noted that people with strong opinions may have been more likely to respond. The study also took place within a single NHS Trust, so more research is needed to understand whether the findings apply to other hospital settings.
