Frequency of red blood cell transfusions in preterm neonates in Brazil: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background and Objectives Red blood cell transfusions are frequent in preterm neonates. The proportion of preterm neonates transfused in Brazil remains unknown. We systematically reviewed the literature to estimate the frequency of red blood cell transfusions in preterm neonates in Brazil. Materials and Methods The LILACS, EMBASE, Cochrane, SciELO, MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, BDTD and 27 national university institutional databases were searched for studies that analysed red blood cell transfusion in preterm neonates in Brazil without period restriction. The Preferred Reporting Items in Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guidelines were followed, and the GRADE methodology was applied. A random‐effects model along with the restricted maximum likelihood method was used, and the Freeman–Tukey transformed proportion was used to estimate effect size. Results Nine studies, representing 6548 preterm neonates, were included in the qualitative and quantitative analyses. The mean gestational age ranged from 26.0 to 31.6 weeks. Most of the studies were from the Southeast region. The pooled estimated frequency of red blood cell transfusions was 58.0% (95% confidence interval = 52.0%–64.0%, p