Haematological patients' perception of home transfusions: Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a growing interest in hospital-at-home programmes, including home transfusion services. We studied whether the pandemic had influenced patients' perception of home transfusions. Materials and Methods We conducted a survey among haematology patients who receive transfusions in the hospital day care facility. Patients were asked about the burden of day care transfusions and whether they would prefer receiving home transfusions. The survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results were compared with a survey performed before the pandemic (baseline). Results Sixty patients were included in the COVID-19 cohort and 31 patients in the baseline cohort. There was a non-significant decrease in the proportion of patients willing to receive home transfusions during the pandemic compared with baseline (35% vs. 47%, respectively, p = 0.28). More patients in the COVID-19 cohort were afraid to receive home transfusions (60% compared with 48% at baseline, p = 0.29), and fewer patients believed that hospital transfusion impaired their quality of life (19% compared with 36% at baseline, p = 0.09). These unexpected results may be partly attributed to the shorter time needed to arrive at the hospital during the pandemic and a greater fear of having transfusion-related adverse effects at home. Conclusions Our results show that the pandemic did not increase the willingness of patients to receive home transfusions, with a non-significant drift towards refusal of home transfusions. Patients' opinions should be taken into consideration when planning for future home transfusion services, by creating a comprehensive approach to patients' needs.

Automated summary

The study investigated whether the COVID-19 pandemic had influenced patients' perception of home transfusions. The survey results showed a slight decrease in patients' willingness to receive home transfusions during the pandemic, along with an increased fear of adverse effects and a decreased belief that hospital transfusion would impair their quality of life. These unexpected findings may be attributed to shorter hospital arrival time during the pandemic and a greater fear of adverse effects at home.