What Doctors Don't Tell YouA further doubt has been raised about blood transfusions following a new study that has found that transfusing red cells can endanger the life of patients.
The study follows two recent meta analyses which cast serious doubt about the use of albumin in critically ill patients.
The new study, involving 838 critically ill and anaemic patients, found that the death rate was far lower among those given just a limited transfusion (New Eng J Med, 1999; 340: 409-17).
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD
