Transfusion audit of blood products using the World Health Organization Basic Information Sheet in Qazvin, Islamic Republic of Iran

We assessed the practicality of using the transfusion Basic Information Sheet (BIS) for data collection, to determine the overall adequacy of physician documentation of blood product transfusion, and to make an audit of the appropriateness of blood product transfusion. The transfusion process and clinical indications for transfusions administered to adult hospitalized patients in 3 tertiary care teaching hospitals in Qazvin were prospectively reviewed. Adequate documentation was achieved in 62.6% of all transfusion episodes, range 41%–73%, depending on the medical specialty; 15.7% of red blood cells and whole blood requests, 40.8% of platelet requests and 34.1% of fresh frozen plasma requests were inappropriate. BIS-based information along with data collection can be used to provide feedback regarding the effectiveness of and compliance with local and national transfusion guidelines.