However, in premature infants the decline in Hb may be associated with abnormal clinical signs severe enough to prompt transfusions. Treatment
Transfusion
AOP is usually treated by blood transfusion but the indications for this are still unclear. Blood transfusions have both infectious and non-infectious risks associated with them. Also, blood transfusions are costly and may add to parental anxiety. The best treatment for AOP is prevention of worsening of anemia by minimizing the amount of blood drawn from the infant (ie, anemia from phlebotomy). It is found that since blood loss attributable to laboratory testing is the primary cause of anemia among preterm infants during the first weeks of life, it would be useful to quantify blood loss attributable to phlebotomy overdraw (ie, blood collected in excess than what is strictly required for the requested lab tests). Lin and colleagues performed a study to see when and if phlebotomy overdraw was actually a significant problem. They recorded all of the data that could be of influence such as the test performed, the blood collection container used, the infants location (neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and intermediate intensive care unit), the infant’s weight sampling and the phlebotomist’s level of experience, work shift, and clinical role. Infants were classified by weight into 3 groups: <1 kg, 1 to 2 kg, and >2 kg. The volume of blood removed was calculated by subtracting the weight of the empty collection container from that of the container filled with blood.
This was present at four weeks for all infants ≤30 weeks gestation and at 8 weeks for infants ≤27 weeks gestation.To date, studies of r-EPO use in premature infants have had mixed results. Ohls et al. examined the use of early r-EPO plus iron and found no short-term benefits in two groups of infants (172 infants less than 1000 g and 118 infants 1000–1250 g). All r-EPO treated infants received 400 U/g three times a week until they reached 35 weeks gestational age. The use of r-EPO did not decrease the average number of transfusions in the infants born at less than 1000 g, or the percentage of infants in the 1000 to 1250 group. A multi-center European trial studied early versus late r-EPO in 219 infants with birth weights between 500 and 999 g.  An r-EPO close of 750 U/kg/week was given to infants in both the early (1–9 weeks) and late (4–10 weeks) groups. The two r-EPO groups were compared to a control group who did not receive r-EPO. Infants in all three groups received 3 to 9 mg/kg of enteral iron. These investigators reported a slight decrease in transfusion and donor exposures in the early r-EPO group (1–9 weeks): 13% early, 11% late and 4% control group. It is likely that only a carefully selected subpopulation of infants may benefit from its use.