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Observational Study
. 2018 Dec 11;11(1):879.
doi: 10.1186/s13104-018-3988-z.

Anaemia requiring red blood cell transfusion is associated with unfavourable 90-day survival in surgical patients with sepsis

Katalin Kristof  1 , Benedikt Büttner  1 , Anna Grimm  1 , Caspar Mewes  1 , Bastian Schmack  2 , Aron Frederik Popov  3 , Michael Ghadimi  4 , Tim Beissbarth  5 , José Hinz  1 , Ingo Bergmann  1 , Ashham Mansur  6
Affiliations
Observational Study

Anaemia requiring red blood cell transfusion is associated with unfavourable 90-day survival in surgical patients with sepsis

Katalin Kristof et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Objective: The mortality associated with sepsis remains unacceptably high, despite modern high-quality intensive care. Based on the results from previous studies, anaemia and its management in patients with sepsis appear to impact outcomes; however, the transfusion policy is still being debated, and the ideal approach may be extremely specific to the individual. This study aimed to investigate the long-term impact of anaemia requiring red blood cell (RBC) transfusion on mortality and disease severity in patients with sepsis. We studied a general surgical intensive care unit (ICU) population, excluding cardiac surgery patients. 435 patients were enrolled in this observational study between 2012 and 2016.

Results: Patients who received RBC transfusion between 28 days before and 28 days after the development of sepsis (n = 302) exhibited a significantly higher 90-day mortality rate (34.1% vs 19.6%; P = 0.004, Kaplan-Meier analysis). This association remained significant after adjusting for confounders in the multivariate Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio 1.68; 95% confidence interval 1.03-2.73; P = 0.035). Patients who received transfusions also showed significantly higher morbidity scores, such as SOFA scores, and ICU lengths of stay compared to patients without transfusions (n = 133). Our results indicate that anaemia and RBC transfusion are associated with unfavourable outcomes in patients with sepsis.

Keywords: Morbidity; Mortality; Organ dysfunction; Organ support; Red blood cell transfusion; Sepsis; Surgical ICU; Survival.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Kaplan–Meier 90-day survival analysis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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