Alcohol-positive multiple trauma patients with and without blood transfusion: an outcome analysis

Blood transfusion is a common therapy for multiple trauma patients, and is often performed soon after hospital admission. It is unclear whether the need for a blood transfusion in multiply injured patients presenting with a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is associated with increased morbidity/mortality, since their risk behavior differs significantly from patients with a negative BAC. In this study, we evaluated the role of blood transfusion in the treatment of BAC-positive multiple trauma patients.

In a three-year period, 164 patients at a single trauma center presented with a positive BAC, and 145 met the inclusion criteria for further evaluation and regression analysis. We compared patients who were transfused (n = 76) with those who were not transfused (n = 69).

In both groups, the most common causes of trauma were traffic accidents and falls. Most patients were admitted to the hospital from the scene of the accident (77.2%) and were male (89.0%). Transfused patients had a lower GCS (p

In our single-center study, the BAC of multiple trauma patients and the number of blood transfusions they received did not predict mortality in multiple trauma patients if used as independent predictors. Prospective studies with greater sample sizes should be performed to clarify the role of blood transfusions in the outcome of this sub-population.