Quality Improvement Process
To compare the effect that the new ProMed cooler and the original
Performance cooler had on blood product wastage, data on total pRBC
units issued and transfused and total pRBC wasted were compared: 1) from
May 1, 2019 to November 15, 2019 (before the implementation of the
revised cooler) and 2) November 16, 2019 to January 31, 2021 (after
implementation of the revised cooler). Outcome and logistical metrics
for each recovery were also recorded. While no temperature log data was
available for the Performance cooler, detailed temperature log data were
collected every six minutes for the ProMed coolers due to the long
duration of validation (Figure 4).
The primary outcomes were total units of pRBCs issued or wasted and cost
analysis of blood product waste. Estimation of total institutional
acquisition costs for a single unit of pRBCs ($200) was used for cost
analysis.