Appraisal of awareness of medical staff about preoperative patient blood management in Saudi Arabia: a questionnaire-based study

Abstract

Patient blood management (PBM) is a comprehensive approach to optimizing the care of patients who might need a transfusion. It involves the use of evidence-based strategies to reduce or avoid the need for allogeneic blood transfusions while ensuring that patients receive safe and appropriate care. PBM includes strategies such as preoperative autologous donation, intraoperative cell salvage, and minimally invasive techniques to reduce bleeding. The purpose of this study is to assess the medical staff’s awareness of preoperative PBM in Saudi Arabia. Between April 2022 and July 2022, data was collected using a 10-minute online (Google Forms) self-administered, anonymous, researcherstructured questionnaire adapted from previous studies and translated into both English and Arabic. The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first section contained sociodemographic data, while the second section was used to estimate physicians’ and nurses’ knowledge of preoperative PBM. Two questions in Part 3 of the questionnaire were used to assess doctors’ and nurses’ preoperative PBM attitudes and practices. The average relationship between patients’ blood management attitudes and levels of awareness. It was revealed that there was a positive attitude (P≤0.005) as well as a high level of awareness (P≤0.002). The effect of job, gender, or geographical distribution on PBM awareness, attitude, and practice was not significant. Despite the fact that the majority of participants have a positive attitude and good awareness of PBM, more efforts should be implemented to improve PBM awareness, which was linked to increased transfusion practices and lower product costs.