Table 1.

A Practice guidelines and B clinical studies principally considered for the development of our guideline

A	Practice guidelines
1	American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force: Practice Guidelines for Perioperative Blood Transfusion and Adjuvant Therapies.
	An Updated Report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force. Approved by the House of Delegates on October 22, 1995 and last amended on October 25, 2005.
2	Expert Working Group. Guidelines for red blood cell and plasma transfusion for adults and children. Int J Risk Saf Med 1997;10:255-271
3	Transfusion de globules rouges homologues: produits, indications, alternatives. Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé, 2002
4	Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists. Perioperative blood transfusion and blood conservation in cardiac surgery: practice guideline. Ann Thorac Surg 2007:83(suppl 5):27–86
5	British Committee for Standards in Haematology, Blood Transfusion Task Force: Guidelines for the clinical use of red cell transfusions.
	Br J Haematol 2001;113:24-31
6	Vorstand und wissenschaftlicher Beirat der Bundesärztekammer: Leitlinien zur Therapie mit Blutkomponenten und Plasmaderivaten,
	3. Auflage. Deutscher Ärzteverlag, Köln 2003
7	Bundesärztekammer im Einvernehmen mit dem Paul-Ehrlich-Institut: Richtlinien zur Gewinnung von Blut und Blutbestandteilen und zur Anwendung von Blutprodukten (Hämotherapie). 2005, Änderungen und Ergänzungen 2007
8	Blood Transfusion and the Anaesthetist: Blood Component Therapy. Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, 2005
9	Practice Guideline Development Task Force of the College of the American Pathologists_ Practice Parameter for the use of red blood cell transfusions. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1998;122:130–138
B	Clinical studies
1	Hébert P, et al: A multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial of transfusion requirements in critical care. N Engl J Med 1999;340:409–417
2	Eindhoven GB, et al: Adjusted transfusion triggers improve transfusion practice in orthopedic surgery. Transfus Med 2005;15:13–18
3	Wong CJ, et al: A cluster-randomized controlled trial of a blood conservation algorithm in patients undergoing total hip joint arthroplasty. Transfusion 2007;47:832–841
4	Grover M, et al: Silent myocardial ischemia and hemoglobin concentration: a randomized controlled trial of transfusion strategy in lower limb arthroplasty. Vox Sang 2006;90:105–112
5	Müller U, et al: Effect of a flow chart on use of blood transfusions in primary hip and knee replacement: prospective before and after study.
	BMJ 2004;328:934–938
6	Carson JL, et al: Perioperative blood transfusion and postoperative mortality. JAMA 1998;279:199–205
7	Weiskopf RB, et al: Human cardiovascular and metabolic response to acute, severe isovolemic anemia. JAMA 1998;279:217–221
8	Heier HE, et al: Transfusion vs alternative treatment modalities in acute bleeding: a systematic review. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2006;50:920–931