{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T08:44:30Z","timestamp":1782809070375,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782777600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Hematology Reports"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Patients with severe chronic anemia often require frequent blood transfusions. Many are elderly with comorbidities and limited mobility, making regular hospital visits burdensome. In some cases, patients may receive transfusions despite hemoglobin levels being above the clinical threshold due to logistical challenges, leading to unnecessary exposure to risks, inefficient use of blood units, and resource strain. This study aims to evaluate the use of point-of-care (POC) hemoglobin measurements under controlled outpatient clinic conditions, as an initial step toward potential future home-based monitoring by the patients or their caregivers, with the goal of optimizing transfusion timing, aiming to reduce unnecessary hospital visits while maintaining patient safety. Methods: A total of 127 patients from a hemato-oncology outpatient clinic at Carmel Medical Center were evaluated using a nurse-operated POC device to sample capillary blood, with 236 paired measurements concurrently analyzed via venous blood in the laboratory. Demographic and clinical data were assessed to evaluate factors associated with agreement between POC and laboratory measurements. Statistical analysis included Bland\u2013Altman plots and Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: The POC device showed a moderate correlation with laboratory results (r = 0.73, p &lt; 0.001), with a mean difference of 1.20 g\/dL (SD = 1.94 g\/dL) but wide limits of agreement (\u22123.20 to 5.50 g\/dL). No significant differences were observed across demographic or clinical subgroups. Notably, all 156 paired measurements with POC-measured hemoglobin &gt;7 g\/dL were confirmed by laboratory testing. Conclusions: Although POC hemoglobin devices are not suitable as standalone tools for routine monitoring of chronic anemia, the high negative predictive value observed at the 7 g\/dL threshold suggests that they may be useful for ruling out severe anemia. If validated in larger multicenter and home-use studies, POC Hb devices might contribute to reducing unnecessary hospital visits and transfusions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/hematolrep18040045","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T05:58:04Z","timestamp":1782799084000},"page":"45","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Use of Point-of-Care Hemoglobin Measurements in an Elderly Population with Hematological Disorders and Anemia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Ittai","family":"Appel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3109601, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liat","family":"Dizengoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nili","family":"Stein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Regina","family":"Draliuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alla","family":"Kravits","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shoshan","family":"Perek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-5183-1111","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amir","family":"Warwar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ibrahim","family":"Zoubi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marwa","family":"Naamneh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adi","family":"Kibari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mouna","family":"Ballan-Haj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olga","family":"Valkovsky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elena","family":"Mishchenko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Meir","family":"Preis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Hematology, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 3436212, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2024). Guideline on Haemoglobin Cutoffs to Define Anaemia in Individuals and Populations, WHO. Available online: https:\/\/iris.who.int\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/376196\/9789240088542-eng.pdf?sequence=1."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"GBD 2021 Anaemia Collaborators (2023). Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990\u20132021: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Haematol., 10, e713\u2013e734."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1111\/nyas.14996","article-title":"Diagnosing Anemia: Challenges Selecting Methods, Addressing Underlying Causes, and Implementing Actions at the Public Health Level","volume":"1524","author":"Dary","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gaskell, H., Derry, S., Andrew Moore, R., and McQuay, H.J. (2008). Prevalence of Anaemia in Older Persons: A Systematic Review. BMC Geriatr., 8.","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2318-8-1"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1892","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2023.12914","article-title":"Red Blood Cell Transfusion: 2023 AABB International Guidelines","volume":"330","author":"Carson","year":"2023","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"927","DOI":"10.1177\/02692163211000634","article-title":"Willingness and concerns of transfusion-dependent hematological patients toward the option of home transfusion therapy","volume":"35","author":"Shaulov","year":"2021","journal-title":"Palliat. Med."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1182\/blood-2017-07-746446","article-title":"Anemia at older age: Etiologies, clinical implications, and management","volume":"131","author":"Stauder","year":"2018","journal-title":"Blood"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00027-10","article-title":"Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control in Acute-Care Settings","volume":"24","author":"Sydnor","year":"2011","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4785","DOI":"10.1182\/blood.V128.22.4785.4785","article-title":"Integrating Palliative Care in Outpatient Hematology Clinic Increases Patient Satisfaction, Adherence to Care and Decrease Hospital Admissions","volume":"128","author":"Draliuk","year":"2016","journal-title":"Blood"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1815","DOI":"10.1007\/s11739-023-03277-w","article-title":"Appropriateness of Packed Red Blood Cells Transfusions in Chronic Anemic Patients in the Emergency Department: The TRANSFUS-ED Retrospective Analysis","volume":"18","author":"Paganini","year":"2023","journal-title":"Intern. Emerg. Med."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"n830","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.n830","article-title":"Reducing Unnecessary Red Blood Cell Transfusion in Hospitalized Patients","volume":"373","author":"Mehta","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2024, December 08). Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data (SSED) for K163465, Available online: https:\/\/www.accessdata.fda.gov\/cdrh_docs\/reviews\/K163465.pdf."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"252","DOI":"10.1111\/ane.12860","article-title":"Point-of-Care versus Central Laboratory Testing of INR in Acute Stroke","volume":"137","author":"Zenlander","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acta Neurol. Scand."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"fmaa050","DOI":"10.1093\/tropej\/fmaa050","article-title":"The Comparison of Hemoglobin Values Measured by Blood and Continuous Non-Invasive Monitoring (SpHb) in Newborn Infants","volume":"67","author":"Kazanasmaz","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Trop. Pediatr."}],"container-title":["Hematology Reports"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2038-8330\/18\/4\/45\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T07:55:50Z","timestamp":1782806150000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2038-8330\/18\/4\/45"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]]},"references-count":14,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["hematolrep18040045"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/hematolrep18040045","relation":{},"ISSN":["2038-8330"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2038-8330","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]]}}}