Determine the effects of transfusion on fatigue, activity, and fatigability among hospitalized patients with anemia

PI: Micah Prochaska, MD, MS Co-PI: David Meltzer, MD, PhD Anemia increases the tendency to become fatigued at any given level of activity (fatigability), increasing fatigue and decreasing activity, which may ultimately impair functional outcomes. Given this, the goals of transfusion may include reducing fatigability, minimizing fatigue and increasing activity, which should be expected to improve functional outcomes. Thus, data on the effects of transfusion on fatigue, activity, and fatigability could inform the design of new transfusion strategies that may improve patient outcomes. One example is symptom-driven transfusion, in which patients would be transfused based on their symptoms, such as fatigue. This project will 1) provide data for hospitalized patients on the effects of transfusion on fatigue, activity levels, and fatigability, and 2) create and validate a new fatigability instrument that can be used in future studies to measure the effects of transfusion on fatigue, activity levels, and fatigability. This instrument could also be used to identify patients for whom a transfusion would be most likely to improve fatigue, activity levels, fatigability, and ultimately functional outcomes.