Prospective audit of requisitions for transfusion at a rural tertiary care hospital in central India as a step to improve transfusion practices

Introduction: A blood requisition form is the sign of final clinical decision for the transfusion. It provides all the clinical details of the patient. The missing and incorrect information in blood request form can be the cause of error and transfusion reactions. This study was aimed to evaluate blood transfusion request form for its correctness and completeness. Based on its findings and results, the clinicians will be asked to take corrective measures. Methods: The blood requisition forms were evaluated in the blood centre at central India during the period of October 2019 to June 2021 and were analysed. Results: 15022 blood requisition forms were received for 19904 units of blood and blood products during the study period. Majority of the requisitions were for single unit. 10.75% forms were without demographic details, 14.58% were without priority, 18.91% were without mentioning of blood group, 32.69% were without mentioning of indication, 24.23% forms were without history of previous transfusion and 23.47% forms were without proper clinical history. Conclusion: The requests for whole blood was much more than packed red cells. More than 60% forms were not properly filled and without proper clinical information. The indication for transfusion of blood and blood components were not mentioned in 33% of the forms. The forms in which indications were mentioned, more than 30% had inappropriate indications. Thus, it is important to sensitize the clinicians about the importance of correctness and completeness of blood transfusion request forms to ultimately improve the clinical practices.