Clinical Analysis With Blood Transfusion In Children At A Single Referral Hospital:June 2017-January 2022

Blood is a critical health resource that must be readily available,safe,properly and logically handled,and administered on time.Blood transfusions are frequently used to replenish blood that has been lost after a traumatic or postpartum hemorrhage.Blood and blood transfusions have been included in the World Health Organization(WHO)model list of essential medicines in recognition of their crucial significance in the treatment of a wide range of medical diseases.Blood transfusion in infants and children is used to treat a variety of medical disorders,but they also carry significant dangers including severe responses to transfusions,such as transfusion responses that are hemolytic,overloading the circulatory system as a result of transfusion and acute lung damage caused by transfusion.Children have distinct physiologic system,which has an effect on the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches.Additionally,children of all ages have varying physiology and anatomy,complicating therapy.The specific objective of the study is to determine the factors associated with blood transfusion among children below 18 years old at Baringo County Referral Hospital and the general objectives are(i)To determine socio-demographic characteristics of children receiving blood transfusion at BCRH,(ii)To determine the medical factors influencing blood transfusion among children below 18 years at BCRH and(iii)To determine transfusion reactions among children below 18 years at BCRH.The study utilized all 208 hospital records from June 2017 to Dec 2021 for children below 18 years who received blood transfusion.The results showed that an,average of 121(59.17 %)of blood transfused patients were aged 0-50 months and 108 of the transfused patients were males.The year 2019 had the higher cases of blood transfusion while 2018 had the least.Half of the donors had a blood group of O Rhesus positive.Patients with birth order 7+,those found to be sick looking,more than half for both male and female patients had cyanosis.Majority of males who underwent a blood transfusion were diagnosed with anemia secondary to malaria.Neither Sex,Age nor Birth order was a determinant for leukemia.Both male and female complained of cough and nearly all the pediatric patients did not undergo surgery.Most patients hailed from Chemolingot followed by Marigat and the rest came from diverse areas.From the findings the study concluded that majority of the transfused patients were diagnosed malaria.Male with general body malaise required received more blood transfusions.In conclusion,children with a wide range of ailments are frequently given blood transfusions.These include medical considerations including complaints,exams,and diagnosis.Blood types A Rhesus positive and O Rhesus positive were found in more than half of the participants.Blood transfusions are frequently utilized to help children with a wide range of medical conditions by way of supplemental treatment.