European Commission releases two new Patient Blood Management guides

On April 3, 2017 the European Commission published two guides on the implementation of Patient Blood Management (PBM); one addressed to national authorities and the other to hospitals. The International Foundation for Patient Blood Management (IFPBM) defines this new standard of care as "an evidence-based bundle of care to optimise medical and surgical patient outcomes by clinically managing and preserving a patient's blood."

On release of their guides the European Commission commented that "the publication is timely as, just last month, the journal Transfusion published impressive results (view journal here) from a comprehensive 5-year PBM programme in Western Australia, the world's largest programme to date on PBM. It included 605,046 patients admitted to Western Australia's four major adult tertiary-care hospitals, with results showing a 28% reduction in hospital mortality, a 15% reduction in average hospital length of stay, a 21% decrease in hospital-acquired infections (transfused patients are more susceptible to infection) and a 31% decrease in the incidence of heart attack or stroke. The use of blood products was reduced by 41% during the study period, achieving not only these significant patient outcome benefits but also representing a very substantial cost saving to the health service".

Professor James Isbister, Sydney University Medical School and Senior Advisor to IFPBM, stated "The European Commission guides on Patient Blood Management will help greatly in improving the standard of patient-focused care across Europe. IFPBM is very pleased to see Patient Blood Management implemented in hospitals and medical centers of excellence across Europe and continue to expand into other counties, greatly improving patient care and substantially lowering health care costs."

The guides are expected to greatly enhance the efforts of health authorities and professionals across the European Union to achieve similar results for patients and hospitals as they have in Western Australia.