Retrospective Cohort Study of Neonatal Blood Transfusion in China
Abstract Background: Blood transfusion treatment is extremely important for newborns,but the threshold of neonatal blood transfusion is not same in different countries, which may be due to differences in regions, races and nationalities, as well as medical conditions and treatment methods. Up to now, there are not enough clinical studies and prospective follow-up to determine the suitable threshold for Chinese newborns. Therefore, it is important to establish a retrospective and prospective multicenter cohort study to evaluate whether the blood transfusion scheme is suitable for newborns in China.Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of neonatal blood transfusion and prospective follow-up from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2021, aim to evaluate the effect of restricted and unrestricted blood transfusion on neonatal health. Diagnosis and blood transfusion data of 5,669 newborns between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018 from 46 hospitals in China were analyzed through retrospective study and followed up for 1w,1m and 3y after discharge. The variable data of newborns and their mothers was collected in this cohort study with 280 variables and 2.98 million data volumes including in the database. The primary outcome index of the study was death, and the secondary outcome index was complications during hospitalization, hospitalization time, NICU hospitalization days and hospitalization expenses.Discussion: The groups were grouped by birth weight, and each group was defined as a restricted and unrestricted cohort according to the Recommended Program for Neonatal Blood Transfusion (5th Edition), and evaluate applicability of this scheme for Chinese newborns based on outcome indicators. According to the neonatal treatment data, a appropriate neonatal blood transfusion threshold and neonatal blood transfusion program for China would be determined.