R.M., a 55-year-old male, was admitted to a hospital emergency department with severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding. His history revealed multiple prior transfusions, the last of which he received five years earlier. Physical examination revealed hemodynamic instability (systolic BP 60 mmHg). Blood tests revealed a hemoglobin (Hb) of 8 g/dL (80 g/L) and a hematocrit (Hct) of 28% (0.28). The patient received aggressive fluid resuscitation with Ringer's lactate and was sent to the operating room (OR) for an emergency laparotomy.
The physician ordered four units of red blood cells to be crossmatched. Two units of uncrossmatched group O Rh-negative red blood cells were also ordered and authorized for immediate emergency transfusion.
