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Transfusion reactions reported to the Québec haemovigilance system between 2005 and 2022: A comparison of paediatric and adult recipients

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Few studies have compared the prevalence of transfusion reactions (TRs) in paediatric and adult recipients, and none have been conducted in Canada. We carried out a retrospective cross-sectional study of TRs reported in a Canadian haemovigilance system (i.e. Québec's haemovigilance system [QHS]) from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2022. QHS is a province-wide voluntary haemovigilance system that records TRs among blood recipients. Overall, 5 372 752 transfusions were recorded; 23 946 reactions deemed definitely, probably or possibly associated with transfusion were analysed (paediatric recipients = 1951 [8.2%]; adults = 21 995 [91.9%]). Paediatric recipients experienced higher rates (95% confidence interval) of reported TRs than adults (97.05 [92.79-101.45] vs. 42.53 [41.97-43.10] per 10 000 transfusions). This difference was predominantly driven by children (age: ≥12 months to <18 years), platelets, red blood cells and minor allergic reactions (all p < 0.0001). Similar results were obtained for nearly all individual TRs except transfusion-associated circulatory overload, whose rates were lower among paediatric recipients (p < 0.0001). However, paediatric age subgroups exhibited divergent patterns: recipients aged <1 month had lower rates than adults, while those aged ≥1 to <12 months and ≥12 months to <18 years had higher rates (all p < 0.0001). The aforementioned differences were consistently observed throughout the 18-year period, with only minor year-to-year variations in subgroups and for individual TRs. We conclude that paediatric recipients consistently exhibited higher rates of reported TRs than adult recipients.

Source: British Journal of Haematology

DOI: 10.1111/bjh.70371

Authors: Nancy Robitaille, Samuel Rochette, Karl Itaj Nawej, Antoine Lewin, Gilles Lambert

Institutions: Héma-Québec, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec

Language: English

Topic: Blood transfusion and management

Subfield: Biochemistry

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec