Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32675093›Full record

ReviewCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2020

Approach to red blood cell antibody testing during pregnancy: Answers to commonly asked questions.

Leigh Minuk, Gwen Clarke, Lani Lieberman

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 29% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Hematologic Complications of Pregnancy.European journal of haematology · 2025
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  3. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Leigh MinukSecond-year resident in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto in Ontario.
Gwen ClarkeAssociate Medical Director of the Immunohematology Department at Canadian Blood Services and Clinical Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Lani LiebermanTransfusion Medicine Specialist in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University Health Network in Toronto, Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto, a consultant in the neonatal intensive care unit and in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and Program Investigator in the Quality in Utilization, Education, and Safety in Transfusion (QUEST) research collaboration at the University of Toronto. lani.lieberman@uhn.ca.
Canadian Blood Services · CASunnybrook Health Science Centre · CAUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo provide family physicians with an understanding of blood bank tests performed during pregnancy. The value of routine blood type and antibody tests, as well as the follow-up required when a patient develops a red blood cell antibody or experiences a fetal-maternal hemorrhage (FMH) will be reviewed. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: The approach described is based on the authors' clinical expertise and peer-reviewed literature from 1967 to 2020. MAIN MESSAGE: An ABO and RhD group and antibody screen test is performed on every pregnant patient during the first trimester. Although antibodies to red blood cell antigens occur infrequently, some can lead to substantial adverse fetal or neonatal consequences including hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. Early identification and quantification of important antibodies ensures that at-risk mothers are referred to and followed by obstetricians experienced with high-risk care. Another valuable and related test is the FMH test. For RhD-negative women, these tests are performed at every delivery and following antepartum events that could contribute to FMH. This test determines the number of fetal red blood cells in the maternal circulation and is used to determine the dose of Rh immune globulin an RhD-negative mother requires to prevent alloimmunization to fetal RhD.

conclusionAn understanding of blood bank tests performed during pregnancy and their role and limitations is vital to optimal practice and aids clinicians in their decision making. When there is doubt or confusion regarding antenatal testing or immunoprophylaxis, consult the regional laboratory or transfusion medicine specialists for additional guidance.

Indexed as

Fetomaternal TransfusionRh IsoimmunizationErythrocytesFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornIsoantibodiesPregnancyRho(D) Immune GlobulinIsoantibodiesRHO(D) antibodyRho(D) Immune Globulin

Identifiers

PMID32675093
PMCPMC7365158
OpenAlexW3043654936

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.