Transfusion rates and disease spectrum in neonates treated with blood transfusion in China

This study aimed to investigate blood transfusion rates and spectrum of diseases in hospitalized neonates treated with blood transfusion in China to provide supporting data for future studies on neonatal blood transfusion. Data on hospitalized neonates were obtained from more than 100 experts from the Department of Neonatology of 55 hospitals in China between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016, using a standardized survey. A statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the data collected, including the blood transfusion rates, blood component transfused, spectrum of diseases, and spectrum of major diseases. Between 2012 and 2016, 541,128 neonates were hospitalized in the 55 hospitals surveyed. There were 70,433 neonates who received blood transfusion, with an average transfusion rate of 13.02%. The rates of red blood cell transfusion, platelet transfusion, and plasma transfusion were 9.44%, 0.66%, and 4.77%, respectively. The neonatal blood transfusion rate was 17.99% in Northeast China, 9.74% in Northwest China, and between 10.60% and 16.22% in other regions. The neonatal blood transfusion rate was 12.3% in general hospitals and 13.8% in women and children's hospitals. The top 10 diseases identified in hospitalized neonates treated by blood transfusion were, in rank order, as follows:prematurity,pneumonia, hyperbilirubinemia, bacterial sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, anemia, hemolytic disease, asphyxia, hemorrhage, and necrotizing enterocolitis. The neonatal blood transfusion rate in China is 13.03%.The rank order in the disease spectrum of the hospitalized neonates and that in hospitalized neonates treated with blood transfusion are different.