A Retrospective Study of the Prevalence of Blood Transfusion and Post-transfusion Hemoglobin Change Patterns in Head and Neck Cancer Patients at Mahavajiralongkorn Thanyaburi Hospital

Prevalence and Patterns of Blood Transfusion in Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

         Head and neck cancer has a rising incidence and is commonly associated with anemia, for which blood transfusion remains an important therapeutic approach. However, data on transfusion practices in this population remain limited in Thailand. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of blood transfusions in head and neck cancer patients at Mahavajiralongkorn Thanyaburi Hospital between 2021 and 2023 and analyze the patterns affecting hemoglobin level changes after receiving blood transfusions. The results showed that the prevalence of blood transfusions in this patient group was on 2.71% on average, with an increasing trend from 1.93% in 2022 to 3.56% in 2023, which may reflect an increasing trend of anemia in these patients. Therefore, it is essential to continuously monitor transfusion rates in the future. Regarding the analysis of patterns affecting hemoglobin level changes after receiving blood transfusion, the study found that patients had an average increase in hemoglobin levels of 1–2.5 g/dL per transfusion. Based on the multiple regression model that included the number of units transfused and the pre-transfusion hemoglobin level as covariates, the amount of red blood cells transfused showed a significant positive correlation with the change in hemoglobin, whereas the pre-transfusion hemoglobin level exhibited a significant negative correlation. The model explained 31.7% of the variance in hemoglobin changes. However, this study still had limitations, including its retrospective descriptive study design, which may have resulted in the lack of control for confounding factors, and its single-center setting. Further studies are needed in the future to confi rm these research results.