Does erythrocyte blood transfusion prevent acute kidney injury? Propensity-matched case control analysis

Acute kidney injury is a common occurrence in intensive care unit patients with a reported incidence of 11-67% and is associated with an increased risk of death. In other patient populations, erythrocyte transfusion has been associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes including sepsis, multisystem organ dysfunction, and death. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of erythrocyte transfusion on the development of acute kidney injury.

This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data that used propensity matched transfused and nontransfused patients. Propensity matching was done using semiparsimonious logistic regression. McNemar test for nonindependent data sets was used to compare groups.

Four hundred two patients from a trial on fluid management in patients with acute lung injury were matched. 38% of transfused patients had a rise in creatinine the day after transfusion compared with 33% of their nontransfused matches (P = 0.315). By day 7, creatinine had increased in 51% of transfused patients compared with 52% in nontransfused patients (P = 0.832). The incidences of renal risk, injury, and failure were 39 (19%), 27 (13%), and 11 (5%) in the transfused group and 38 (19%), 24 (12%), and 11 (5%) in the nontransfused group, P = 1.00, 0.785, and 1.00, respectively.

Transfusion of erythrocytes to patients with acute lung injury had no effect on the development of acute kidney injury.