Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41192946›Full record

ArticleVox sanguinis2026

Cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical assay to evaluate stored blood quality prior to transfusion.

Melissa C Caughey, Tara Templin, Nareg H Roubinian, Matthew S Karafin

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Vox sanguinis, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

4 authors.

Melissa C CaugheyThe Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8433-5147
Tara TemplinDepartment of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Nareg H RoubinianKaiser Permanente Northern California, Division of Research, Pleasanton, California, USA.
Matthew S KarafinDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

Funding

The Impact of Oxidative Stress on Erythocyte BiologyR01HL148151 · NHLBI · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI D'ALESSANDRO, ANGELO, KARAFIN, MATTHEW S · 2019 to 2022
$8.9M
Effects of blood conservation and donor characteristics on transfused patient outcomes in a large community hospital networkR01HL126130 · NHLBI · VITALANT · PI ROUBINIAN, NAREG · 2016 to 2019
$1.9M
The Effects of Older Red Cell Units in Adults with Sickle Cell DiseaseK23HL136787 · NHLBI · VERSITI WISCONSIN, INC. · PI KARAFIN, MATTHEW S · 2018 to 2022
$891k
Development of a contact-free assay to evaluate stored blood quality using ultrasound viscoelasticity techniquesR21EB035312 · NIBIB · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI MELISSA C CAUGHEY · 2024 to 2026
$571k
National Institutes of Health (NIH) K23HL136787National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01HL126130National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01HL148151National Institutes of Health (NIH) R21EB035312NHLBI NIH HHS K23 HL136787NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL126130NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL148151NIBIB NIH HHS R21 EB035312
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectivesUnsuccessful red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, necessitating unscheduled repeat transfusion, is common and costly. Several technologies have been developed to assess stored blood quality, but the potential cost-effectiveness of pretransfusion testing versus no testing to prevent unscheduled re-transfusion is unknown. MATERIALS AND

methodsProjected benefits and costs of implementing a hypothetical pretransfusion assay were evaluated using Markov models with 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations. Chronic RBC transfusions were modelled at 1-month intervals over a 1-year time horizon, for 'simple' and 'complicated' (requiring antigen matching) cohorts. Model inputs included transfusion costs and quality-of-life weights. Cost-effectiveness was defined as incremental net monetary benefit (INMB) > 0, assuming willingness to pay <$50,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY).

resultsThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reimbursement for a single-unit RBC transfusion was $970 ($853-$1313) and $2377 ($2057-$3317), respectively, for the simple and complicated cohorts. The hypothetical assay was priced at $100 ($38-$163) and was assumed to lower unscheduled re-transfusions by 30%, from 64% to 45% (40%-50%). Pretransfusion testing yielded 0.02 higher QALY (95% prediction interval [PI]: 0.01-0.02); annual per-patient cost savings of $269 (95% PI: $263-$276) and $3651 (95% PI: $3633-$3669), respectively, for the simple and complicated cohorts; and INMB of $1083 (95% PI: $985-$1180) and $4347 (95% PI: $4250-$4443).

conclusionAssessment of RBC quality by a hypothetical test prior to transfusion may reduce the incidence and associated costs of unscheduled re-transfusions and, with modelled assumptions, could be especially cost-effective for patients with complicated chronic transfusion requirements.

Indexed as

Blood PreservationErythrocyte TransfusionCost-Benefit AnalysisHumansMarkov ChainsQuality-Adjusted Life Yearscost‐effectivenesspretransfusion testingquality assessmentred blood cell transfusion

Identifiers

PMID41192946
PMCPMC12614177

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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 Socratic graph.