As with all pharmacotherapy in children, weight based volumes are used
to determine the appropriate amount of component therapy to provide. The
following are guidelines to be used for transfusion therapy:
Estimated Blood Volume:
Newborn: 90ml/kg
Child: 80ml/kg
Adult: 70ml/kg
Replacement Volumes:^5
10ml/kg of packed RBC’s – Increase HCT approximately 3%
1 unit/10kg of platelets – Raise platelet count by 25,000
10ml/kg of FFP for coagulopathy
1 unit/5kg of Cryoprecipitate to replace Fibrinogen
Iii. Neonatal Transfusion
Premature infants are among the most commonly transfused patients in
the hospital setting. Nearly 50% of infants will receive their first blood transfusion
within two weeks after birth, and almost 80% of infants will receive at least one
blood transfusion during their hospital stay [2,6].^ Anemia in the preterm infant is
most commonly due to either acute blood loss from multiple laboratory draws or
due to inadequate marrow production – anemia of prematurity. Defining which
patients will benefit from transfusion of blood components is difficult as the