Re-thinking the Value of Transfusion Guidelines

A 72 year-old lady is soon to be discharged from a standard hospital ward after recovering from recent pneumonia. Her hemoglobin is 8.1 g/dL. She is afebrile and her BP is 170/80. She has known longstanding hypertension under treatment with a diuretic and has left ventricular hypertrophy on electrocardiogram. Her pulse is 82 beats per minute. She admits to feeling weak and out-of-breath when she takes “laps” around the nursing station. When questioned about her breathing, she replies: “I am 72 years old, you know”.
Source: Transfusion Medicine Reviews - Category: Hematology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research