Red blood cells transfusion in intensive care unit.

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Hematology
• Transfusion Medicine

Background:

• Anemia is a prevalent condition in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, often necessitating red blood cell (RBC) transfusions.
• Causes of anemia in critically ill patients include trauma, gastrointestinal bleeding, and surgical blood loss.
• Current guidelines for RBC transfusion in ICUs are lacking, despite its frequent use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinical indications for red blood cell transfusions in intensive care unit patients.
• To analyze the transfusion rate and patient demographics in an ICU setting.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of clinical histories of ICU patients who received RBC transfusions between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2005.
• Study approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the University of South of Santa Catarina (UNISUL).

Main Results:

• The overall transfusion rate was 19.33%.
• Patients undergoing transfusion were predominantly male and aged 60 years or older.
• The mortality rate for patients receiving RBC transfusions was 38.22%.

Conclusions:

• Low serum hemoglobin levels were the primary indication for RBC transfusion, with an average pre-transfusion hemoglobin of 8.11 g/dL.
• Common pre-diagnosis criteria included polytrauma and sepsis/septic shock.