Practice Strategies for Elective Red Blood Cell Transfusion

Abstract

The following clinical guideline is based on the background paper "Prudent Strategies for Elective Red Blood Cell Transfusion," published in this issue of Annals. The goal of presenting the guideline in this format is to enhance clarity and promote use in daily clinical practice. The information provided in the various exhibits and algorithms can be found in the background paper (the numbers in brackets correspond to specific paragraphs of the background paper). The clinical guideline is structured in the following way: First, general therapeutic principles are introduced in a concise manner. Then, more specific guidelines are given in various exhibits, and a general management strategy is outlined in algorithm form. The background paper is the analytic component of the guideline, and as such it contains information that is not presented in the clinical guideline. These two documents should thus be viewed as complementing each other. Readers are invited to comment on this new format for the Clinical Efficacy Assessment Project (CEAP) clinical guidelines. Comments should be sent to the authors or to the Department of Scientific Policy, American College of Physicians.