A landmark study by Hébert and colleagues ,
the transfusion requirements in critically ill patients (TRICC) study,
demonstrated that a restrictive strategy of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion was as effective as a liberal strategy. Moreover, these authors [9] reported a survival benefit with the restrictive strategy in patients younger than 55 years and those with acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II scores of 20 or
less. Similarly, in a recent study in pediatric critically ill patients, Lacroix and colleagues [10] reported that restricting transfusions to patients with a hemoglobin threshold of 7 g/dl was not associated with an increase in adverse events compared with patients transfused
according to a trigger of 9.5 g/dl.