| Abstract: |
Background and Objective: Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a key intervention for managing anemia across various patient populations, with the primary aim of alleviating symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea to enhance quality of life (QoL). Despite its widespread use, the effect of RBC transfusion on QoL is not fully understood and appears to vary across populations, depending on factors such as transfusion strategy, baseline hemoglobin (Hgb) level, comorbidities, and disease context. Importantly, existing studies often focus on short-term physiological outcomes, leaving a gap in the understanding of long-term and patient-reported QoL benefits. This narrative review aims to synthesize current evidence on the impact of RBC transfusion on QoL in patient populations that frequently require transfusion support, including those undergoing cardiac or hip surgery, patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) or thalassemia, and individuals with hematologic malignancies, gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), and critically-ill patients—highlighting key knowledge gaps and informing future research and clinical practice. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, covering English language studies published between 2000 and 2024, including randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and reviews. Key Content and Findings: This review summarizes current evidence on the impact of RBC transfusion on QoL in patients that frequently require transfusion support. In surgical settings, restrictive transfusion strategies often yield comparable outcomes to liberal approaches. For patients with chronic transfusion needs, such as those with thalassemia or SCD, QoL outcomes are influenced by underlying disease severity and transfusion-related complications. The review highlights the need for standardized QoL measures and longer-term studies to clarify the true impact of RBC transfusion on patient-centered outcomes. Conclusions: This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current evidence on the impact of RBC transfusion on QoL, offering valuable insights to inform more patient-centered transfusion practices. By identifying key knowledge gaps—particularly the lack of standardized QoL measures and long-term outcome data—it lays the groundwork for future research aimed at refining transfusion strategies and improving clinical decision-making across diverse patient populations. © AME Publishing Company. |
