Raziye Canan Vergin

Objective: Blood and blood components are valuable therapeutic products, particularly in pediatric settings where transfusion demand is variable and often urgent. Minimizing blood product wastage is essential to protect limited resources and ensure patient safety. The aim was to determine the rate, causes, and clinical distribution of blood product wastage in a tertiary pediatric hospital over a 1-year period. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study reviewed all red blood cell concentrates (RBCC), apheresis platelet concentrates (APC), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and cryoprecipitate processed in 2018. Wastage was defined as any allocated but unused unit that became unsuitable for transfusion. Reasons for discard and requesting clinical departments were analyzed. Results: A total of 9 750 components were prepared; 73 (0.75%) were discarded. The wastage rates were RBCC 0.38%, APC 0.54%, FFP 1.8%, and cryoprecipitate 0.6%. The leading discard cause was expiration of shelf life (44%), followed by inappropriate requests (7%) and technical issues such as leakage or hemolysis (6%). Intensive care and emergency units accounted for the highest proportion of wastage. Conclusion: Although the overall wastage rate was low, most losses were preventable. Implementing real-time electronic inventory tools, clinician education, and improved ordering–transfusion synchronization may further reduce wastage and enhance transfusion safety in pediatric care. Cite this article as: Tahta N, Oymak Y, Ayhan FY, et al. Evaluation of blood product wastage rates and causes. Cerrahpaşa Med J 2026, 50, 0087, doi: 10.5152/cjm.2026.25087.

Amaç: Kemoterapi protokollerinin temel ilacı olan antrasiklinler en sık kardiyotoksisite yan etkisine sahiptir. Antrasiklin ile tedavi edilen kanserli çocuklarda kalp hızı değişkenliğini 24 saatlik Holter elektrokardiyografi (EKG) ile prospektif olarak değerlendirmeyi amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Antrasiklin ile tedavi edilen kanserli hastalarda hiç tedavi almadan, 120mg/m2 ve ≥240 mg/m2 kümülatif antrasiklin dozunda 24 saatlik Holter EKG monitörizasyonu yapıldı. Kalp atış hızı değişkenliğinin (HRV) zaman alanı ve frekans alanı ölçümleri elde edildi. Hastalar üç gruba ayrıldı: hiç tedavi almadan Grup 1 (n = 54), Grup 2 :≥120 mg/m2 (n = 54), Grup 3: ≥240 mg/m2 (n = 54) seklinde ayrıldı. Bulgular: Ortanca yaş 48 aydı (aralık 9-192 ay). 38 (% 70.4) hasta akut lösemi, iki hasta T lenfoblastik lenfoma (% 3.8) ve 14 hasta (% 25.8) diğer çocukluk çağı kanserleridir. Bununla birlikte, tüm kalp hızı değişkenleri, nSDNN indeksi, rMSSD, pNN50 gibi zaman parametreleri ve LF, HF ve Toplam güç gibi frekans parametreleri gibi her artan kümülatif antrasiklin dozu ile azalma görüldüğü belirlendi. LF/HF oranı da Grup 3’te istatistiksel olarak anlamlı şekilde artış gösterdiği saptandı. Kalp hızı parametrelerine göre, ortalama kalp hızı, ortalama minimum kalp hızı ve ortalama RR, kümülatif doz artıkça istatistiksel olarak anlamlı şekilde uzadığı belirlendi. Sonuç: Kalp hızı değişkenleri, kardiyak otonomik nöral disfonksiyonu ve erken miyokardiyal hasarın gösterilmesi için invazif olmayan bir tekniktir. 24 saatlik Holter EKG’si, her artan 120 mg/m2 antrasiklin kümilatif dozu ile antrasiklin tedavisi sırasında erken kardiyak dysautonomia etkisini saptamak için kullanılabilir.

Background: The identification of immunophenotype subgroups is very important for the diagnosis and prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL). Material and Methods: The study included 105 children with ALL(65 males, 40 females; mean age 5.9±3.8 years) who were treated TR-ALL 2000(modified) BFM treatment protocol. Results: The distributions of EGIL classification were pro-B ALL(n=1), common B ALL(n=46), pre-B ALL(n=40), pre-T ALL(n=8), cortical T ALL(n=6), and mature T ALL(n=4). Leukocyte≥100,000/mm³, lymphadenopathy≥2 cm, mediastinal involvement were commonly identified in T ALL group. T ALL had a poor response to chemotherapy according to 8th-day peripheral circulation blast counts and 15th-day bone marrow aspiration(BMA) blast counts. The recurrence, mortality, and death rate in the induction period of treatment were frequently detected in T ALL group. The variables that had prognostic potential, as indicated by univariate analyses, were leukocyte count, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and lymphadenopathy at the time of diagnosis, 8th-day steroid response, 15th-day BMA response, risk group, recurrence, and immunophenotyping. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that only the leukocyte count(HR 2.51, p < 0.001) was a predictor of prognosis. Conclusion: Immunophenotyping may be effective in the diagnosis and prognosis of ALL, identification of risk groups, and in risk-based treatment planning. T ALL had a poor prognosis.