Abstract
Recently, red blood cell transfusions have been advocated for patients with acute myocardial infarction when hemoglobin falls below 10 g/dL, based on the Myocardial Ischemia and Transfusion (MINT) trial, which showed a trend to benefit, compared to deferring transfusion until hemoglobin was below 7-8 g/dL. However, the trial failed to reach its primary endpoint. A meta-analysis including the totality of published relevant evidence does not support the superiority of one blood transfusion strategy over another. Advocating a policy of more liberal transfusion for patients with myocardial infarction and anemia is premature, potentially erroneous, and harmful.
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