No Association between Frequency of Blood Transfusions and Incompatibility of Blood Transfusions in Thalassemia Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Thalassemia is an inherited disease caused by genetic changes that decrease the rate of synthesis of one or more globin chains of hemoglobin (Hb) tetramer. Patients with thalassemia who have changes in Hb may require frequent blood transfusions as a result of these changes in Hb. As a result of an antigen reaction known as incompatibility, frequent blood transfusions might result in the production of antibodies. Incompatibilities with blood transfusions may result in immediate side effects or delayed reactions. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the association between the frequency of blood transfusions and the incompatibility of blood transfusions with regard to thalassemia patients at Cut Meutia General Hospital in North Aceh.
Method: This research is a descriptive analytic with a cross-sectional approach, a retrospective study. The sample in this study was the medical records of thalassemia patients in the Pediatric Inpatient Room at North Aceh Cut Meutia General Hospital (RSUCM) for the 2021 period. The sampling technique was carried out by total sampling.
Results: Obtained 66 samples, in the age category the majority of thalsemia patients aged 6-11 years with a percentage of 45.5% (30), and male sex with a percentage of 53% (35). The frequency of blood transfusions was obtained by the majority doing ≤12 times per year with a percentage of 86.4% (57) and the results of patient incompatibility were obtained by 27.3% (18) in all respondents who underwent blood transfusions.
Conclusion: The results of this study concluded that there was no relationship between the frequency of blood transfusions (p=0.213) and the incompatibility of blood transfusions in thalassemia patients at RSUCM Hospital. Limitation of this study was small sample size.