A 50-year-old male presented for a Whipple's procedure to excise a pancreatic lesion. Massive transfusion of packed cells and fresh frozen plasma was required. Towards the end of the procedure, the patient developed sudden onset of frank pulmonary oedema and hypotension. A presumptive diagnosis of transfusion related lung injury was made after prompt investigations excluded circulatory overload or cardiogenic shock as the cause. This case report describes an increasingly common and life-threatening sequela of blood product transfusion, the management of which is complicated by the current lack of specific diagnostic tests.
NishimuraM., MitsunagaS., IshikawaY., SatakeM.Possible mechanisms underlying development of transfusion-related acute lung injury: roles of anti-major histocompatibility complex class II DR antibody.Transfus Med2003; 13: 141–147.
6.
Boulton-JonesR., NorrisA., O'SullivanA.The impact of screening a platelet donor panel for human leucocyte antigen antibodies to reduce the risk of transfusion-related acute lung injury.Transfus Med2003; 13: 169–170.
7.
SillimanC.C., BoshkovL.K., MehdizadehkashiZ.Transfusion-related acute lung injury: epidemiology and a prospective analysis of etiologic factors.Blood2003; 101: 454–462.
8.
SHOT.SHOT Annual Report 2000/2001. Available at http//www.shotuk.org (Accessed 10/7/2003); 2001.
