Prevalence and factors associated to transfusion adverse reactions at the Sourou Sanou University Hospital of Bobo-Dioulasso between January and December 2019

Introduction: Blood transfusions save thousands of lives every day all around the world. They can, however, cause severe adverses reactions in transfused patients, which can be fatal. Our study's goal was to estimate  the incidence of transfusion related adverse events and to identify the factors that contribute to the occurrence of transfusion reactions in transfused patients.

Methods: Between January and December 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional study at the clinical departments of Sourou Sanou University Hospital (CHU-SS).

Results: Transfusion responses occurred at a rate of 29.91 per 1000 blood bags transfused, with 39.13% being infectious and 13.04% being allergic. Transfusion reactions were 3.54 times (p = 0.05) and 4.16 times (p = 0.004) more likely if the blood transfusion lasted less than 30 minutes or more than 60 minutes, respectively, compared to 30 to 60 minutes. When compared to transfusion of up to two blood bags, transfusion of three to four blood bags and more than four blood bags increased the risk of transfusion adverse reaction by 1.67 times (p = 0.032) and 2.17 times (p = 0.049), respectively.

Conclusion: Our research has revealed the prevalence and risk factors for transfusion adverses reactions. The introduction of prevention techniques would increase transfusion safety.