Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40268495›Full record

ArticleVox sanguinis2025

Electronic health records reveal variations in the use of blood units by hour and medical specialty.

Esa Turkulainen, Elissa Peltola, Markus Perola, Miika Koskinen, Mikko Arvas, Minna Ilmakunnas

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Vox sanguinis, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Circadian patterns in transfusion-associated circulatory overload.Transfusion medicine (Oxford, England) · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
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

6 authors.

Esa TurkulainenFinnish Red Cross Blood Service, Research and Development, Helsinki, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8844-9344
Elissa PeltolaIT Management, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Markus PerolaDepartment of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland.
Miika KoskinenDiagnostic Center, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Mikko ArvasFinnish Red Cross Blood Service, Research and Development, Helsinki, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6902-8488
Minna IlmakunnasFinnish Red Cross Blood Service, Research and Development, Helsinki, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8469-4091

Funding

Finnish Red Cross Blood Service Research FundValtion tutkimusrahoitus
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectivesEfficient blood supply chain requires accurate demand estimates. Blood demand is created by clinicians making transfusion decisions based on patient status. To better understand the use of blood units, we tracked their use hourly and across a large hospital organization. MATERIALS AND

methodsWe analysed blood use in adult patients over 2021-2022 at HUS Helsinki University Hospital, serving a population of 1.7 million and consuming a third of blood units used in Finland. We utilized electronic health records (EHR) to map transfusions to patient demographics, diagnoses, medical specialties, treatment events, surgical procedures and laboratory values. Data were matched to transfusions of red blood cells, platelets and plasma using timestamps and treatment episodes.

resultsIn total, 107,331 units were transfused to 19,637 unique patients in 50,978 transfusion episodes. Most transfusions occurred in emergency settings, with 61.5% of use driven by emergency department admissions. The most common diagnoses were malignant neoplasms, anaemia and cardiovascular diseases. In total, 47.9% of transfusions were associated with a surgical procedure. Of these, 72.9% were for urgent surgery. Blood use peaked in the early evening and was lowest during morning office hours.

conclusionThe study offers a comprehensive picture of blood use in one of the largest European hospital organizations. In addition to elective use, a significant portion of blood demand is driven by urgent and emergency needs, which introduce some uncertainty in predicting blood use. Future studies should aim to understand both elective and emergency blood use to help improve demand estimates.

Indexed as

Blood TransfusionElectronic Health RecordsAdultAgedFemaleFinlandHumansMaleMiddle Agedblood useEHRelectiveemergencysurgerytransfusion

Identifiers

PMID40268495
PMCPMC12187620

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.