An audit of the use of platelet transfusions at Universitas Academic Hospital, Bloemfontein, South Africa P.H. Sonnekus a, *, V.J. Louw b , A.M. Ackermann c , C.L. Barrett a , G. Joubert d , M.J. Webb b a Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa b Division of Clinical Haematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa c Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa d Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa A R T I C L E I N FO Keywords: Platelets transfusion audit compliance guidelines alignment A B ST R AC T An audit was performed at a tertiary hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa, to establish whether clinicians adhered to local platelet transfusion guidelines. The audit showed poor compliance with local guidelines, with 34% of platelet transfusions not aligned with guide- lines and 29.9% of transfusions administered to patients with platelet counts of ≥150 × 10 9 / L. When compared to medical disciplines, surgical disciplines tended significantly more to transfuse platelets inappropriately (17.1% and 53.7%, respectively; p < 0.0001). Docu- mentation was poor and in 48.4% of orders for platelets, the indication for the platelet transfusion was not clearly stated. Considerable cost could be avoided with improved ad- herence to guidelines. This study emphasises the need for improving education in transfusion medicine amongst medical doctors. It is hoped that the information gleaned from this study would assist in the design of educational programmes in transfusion medicine as we attempt to close the existing gaps in knowledge and skills in the field, while ensuring that blood is transfused in a cost-effective and appropriate manner. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 45 1.1. Local transfusion guidelines ................................................................................................................................................................................ 45 2. Materials and methods ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 2.1. Demographic details .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 45 2.2. Resource management .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 2.3. Appropriate platelet usage .................................................................................................................................................................................. 46 3. Results ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 3.1. Demographic and general information ........................................................................................................................................................... 46 3.2. Resource management .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Special instructions to the printer: None. * Corresponding author. Department of Internal Medicine (G73), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. Tel.: +27 82 771 8104; fax: +27 865126656. Email address: phsonnekus@gmail.com (P.H. Sonnekus). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.transci.2014.10.011 1473-0502/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Transfusion and Apheresis Science 51 (2014) 44–52 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Transfusion and Apheresis Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/transci