To explore the cognition of patient blood management (PBM) among obstetricians and gynecologists in China.

Through convenience sampling, 330 obstetricians and gynecologists (hereafter referred as surveyed subjects) from 29 provinces and cities were surveyed from March to June 2023 using a self-designed questionnaire on Patient Blood Management Cognition Survey, administered both online and offline. The questionnaire consisted of three main sections: general information of the survey participants, their knowledge and attitude towards PBM, and evaluation and treatment of anemia in PBM. Differences in PBM familiarity among surveyed subjects of different ages, professional titles, and years of practice were analyzed by chi-square test, and further pairwise comparisons were conducted by Bonferroni method to adjust the significance level. The study adhered to the ethical guidelines of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki revised in 2013.

①Out of 339 distributed questionnaires, 330 were validly returned, yielding a response rate of 97.3%. ②Of 330 surveyed subjects, 208 (63.0%) were very familiar or familiar with PBM, 111 (33.6%) had heard of PBM but lacked understanding, and 11 (3.3%) had never heard of it. A total of 168 surveyed subjects (50.9%) had read PBM-related guidelines, predominantly Chinese PBM-related guidelines (162 surveyed subjects, 96.4%), and least frequently Australian PBM-related guidelines (9 surveyed subjects, 5.4%). Among 319 surveyed subjects who knew PBM, academic conferences were the most cited source of PBM knowledge (213 surveyed subjects, 66.8%), with online courses being the least (75 surveyed subjects, 23.5%). ③There were statistical differences in familiarity with PBM among surveyed obstetricians and gynecologists with different ages, professional titles, and years of practice (χ²=39.30, 46.91, 31.00; P<0.001). Further pairwise comparisons revealed that physicians aged 31-40 years, 41-50 years, ≥51 years showed greater familiarity with PBM compared to those aged 21-30 years, and the differences all were statistically different (P<0.001); surveyed subjects with senior and associate senior professional titles were more familiar with PBM compared to those with junior and intermediate professional titles, and surveyed subjects with intermediate professional titles were more familiar with PBM than those with junior professional titles, and these differences were statistically significant (P≤0.002); surveyed subjects with more than 20 years, 16-20 years, 11-15 years of practice all were more familiar with PBM than those with 0-5 years of practice, and surveyed subjects with more than 20 years of practice were more familiar with PBM than those with 6-10 years of practice, and all differences were statistically significant (P≤0.004). ④A significant majority (99.4%, 328/330) recognized the necessity of implementing PBM; all respondents (100%, 330/330) agreed on the heightened importance of PBM in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting strain on blood resources. Moreover, 96.1% (317/330) and 93.9% (310/330) believed that organizing PBM knowledge promotion and skill training sessions would facilitate PBM implementation.

The level of cognition and understanding of PBM among obstetricians and gynecologists needs to be improved. Establishing a PBM knowledge education and training system is essential, with increased focus on educating and training young physicians, those with lower professional titles, and primary care physicians, to standardize PBM treatment practices.