Rationale and design of the Informing Fresh versus Old Red Cell Management (INFORM) Trial: An international pragmatic randomized trial

Although red blood cell transfusion is a potentially lifesaving intervention in severely anemic and acutely bleeding patients, some observational studies have suggested that prolonged red cell storage prior to transfusion is associated with harm. INFORM is a large, pragmatic, randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of the shorter-storage with longer-storage red blood cell transfusions on in-hospital mortality in hospitalized patients who require a blood transfusion. The trial is being conducted in centres in Australia, Canada, Israel and the United States, and is expected to enrol 31,497 patients.

Source: Transfusion Medicine Reviews - November 11, 2015 Category: Hematology Authors: John W. Eikelboom, Richard J. Cook, Rebecca Barty, Yang Liu, Donald M. Arnold, Mark A. Crowther, P.J. Devereaux, Martin Ellis, Priscilla Figueroa, Alex Gallus, Jack Hirsh, Andrea Kurz, David Roxby, Daniel I. Sessler, Yehudit Sharon, Magdalena Sobieraj-Tea Source Type: research