Restrictive Versus Liberal Red Blood Cell Transfusion Strategies for Patients with Hematologic Malignancies Receiving Intensive Chemotherapy

Background: It is estimated that one-quarter to one-half of people diagnosed with hematologic malignancies experience anemia and red blood cell (RBC) transfusion plays an essential supportive role in their management. There are different strategies for RBC transfusions to treat anemia. A restrictive transfusion strategy seeks to maintain a lower hemoglobin level (usually between 70 g/L to 90 g/L with a trigger for transfusion when the …