blood transfusion

[teejay953]

my husband was severely stabbed one time on the left side a few years back (his scar was abt 8 to 10 inches long, abt 5 inches wide and his intestine could be seen through the skin at the deepest part of the scar. he could not remember if he received a blood transfusion for this injury or not. he had memory problems. could someone share with me if he would have possibly require a blood transfusion for this injury during surgery?

thank you for your imput.

[teejay953]

thank you for your help.

[Londres70]

I would say yes given the severity of the wound.  

[teejay953]

as you work in the medical field. if someone came into the emergency room with such a wound, would there be more than a 50% probability he would have received a blood transfusion?

i do thank you for your opinions.

[Londres70]

Well,  I can tell you blood was not screened as closely as it is now versus back then.
So, IF and that is IF he received a blood transfusion there is a high probability that he could of contracted Hep C from the transfusion.  Or the blade used to stab him could have been tainted with someone else's blood that was Hep C positive.  

Secondly, all other risk factors have been ruled out?

Yes, I work in the medical field.

[teejay953]

yes,
he has hepatitis c and he had his stabbing and hospital stay in 1978 and there were no tests to find hep c until 1992. his personal doctor says he had no other risk factors other than this. that was why my question ... so in it is more than likely he received tainted blood.

do you work in the medical field?

thank you for your input.
tj

[Londres70]

Oh, then that would be difficult to tell you he did or didn't.  From the information you provided in the post, I would say the probability is high that he did.

Secondly, may I ask why this is important to find out?  Do you think he received a contaminated blood transfusion/infected by contaminated blood?

[teejay953]

the hospital only keeps records for 25 years and this took place in 1978. that is why i was asking if a severe stab wound such as this would have required a blood transfusion.

thank you for and all input.

[Londres70]

He can always obtain a copy of his hospital records.

[caregiver222]

When someone comes into the ER there are a few different protocols, depending upon whether he is brought into a trauma center.

Initially a so-called MAST unit may be initially used, circumferentially squeezing the legs and autotransfusing about 1000 cc's of blood. They will also infuse normal saline. Then they will make a decision based upon the hematocrit. Intestines protruding (as long as they are not punctured) look worse then they are. The MAST is deflated gradually, and the physician has a choice of blood products.

Memory problems are unlikely to be due to whether or not he had a transfusion.

He may have lost so much blood that he went into cardaic arrest. You might not know thisn unless you had the ER records.

In any event, the hospital records regarding transfusions are generally meticulously kept. It was not always so, but that it the way it has been for the last ten years.

If he did get a unit of blood, I am sure he needed it.

But have him file a simple FOI request with the hospital and you will obtain a definitive answer.