Transfusion‐associated hyperkalemia in pediatric population: Prevalence, risk factors, survival, infusion rate, and RBC unit features

• DOI: 10.1111/trf.16300
• Publication Date: 2021-02-11T03:22:46Z
• Authors: Chisa Yamada; Maureen Edelson; Angela Lee; Nabiha Huq Saifee; Burak Bahar; Meghan Delaney
• Keywords: Male; Adolescent; Comorbidity; transfusion practices (neonatal; Oncology and Hematology; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Risk Factors; Health Sciences; pediatrics); Prevalence; Humans; Mortality; Child; Infusions, Intravenous; Retrospective Studies; Transfusion Medicine; non infectious; Infant; 3. Good health; Case-Control Studies; Child, Preschool; transfusion complications; Potassium; Hyperkalemia; Female; Erythrocyte Transfusion; RBC transfusion

AbstractBackgroundHyperkalemia is a rare life‐threatening complication of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Stored RBCs leak intracellular potassium (K+) into the supernatant; irradiation potentiates the K+ leak. As the characteristics of patients and implicated RBCs have not been studied systematically, a multicenter study of transfusion‐associated hyperkalemia (TAH) in the pediatric population was conducted through the AABB Pediatric Transfusion Medicine Subsection.Study DesignThe medical records of patients <18 years old were retrospectively queried for hyperkalemia occurrence during or ≤12 h after the completion of RBC transfusion in a 1‐year period. Collected data included patient demographics, diagnosis, medical history, timing of hyperkalemia and transfusion, mortality, and RBC unit characteristics.Results/FindingsA total of 3777 patients received 19,649 RBC units during the study period in four facilities. TAH was found in 35 patients (0.93%) in 37 occurrences. The patient median age and weight were 1.28 years and 9.80 kg, respectively. All patients had multiple serious comorbidities. There were 79 RBC units transfused in the TAH events; 62% were irradiated, and the median age of the units was 10 days. The median total RBC volume transfused ≤12 h before TAH was 24% of patient estimated total blood volume, and the median infusion rate (IR) was19.6 ml/kg/h. Mortality rate within 1 day after the TAH event was 20%.ConclusionsThe prevalence of TAH in children was low; however, the 1‐day mortality rate was 20%. Patients with multiple comorbidities may be at higher risk for TAH. The IR was higher for patients who had TAH than the IR threshold for safe transfusion.