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Patient's performance status should dictate transfusion strategy in nonvariceal acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding
Riccardo Marmo1, Marco Soncini2, Roberto de Franchis3
1Gastroenterology Department, Presidio Ospedaliero Luigi Curto, ASL 3 Salerno, Via Luigi Curto , Polla (Salerno).
Background:
Non-variceal acute UGI bleeding (NV-AUGIB) is a frequent indication for transfusion, but the best hemoglobin threshold and target values for transfusion in relation to the patients' performance status are unknown.
Objective:
To identify threshold and target hemoglobin levels for transfusion favoring survival of patients with NV-AUGIB stratified by ASA score.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Setting:
50 hospitals of the Italian National Health Service.
Participants:
2758 consecutive patients with NV-AUGIB admitted to 50 Italian hospitals from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2015. Five hemoglobin cut-off values were evaluated.
Results:
30-days mortality: overall: 5.4%; ASA 1-2 patients: 2.5%; ASA 3-4 patients: 10.8%. Mortality was higher when hemoglobin at admission was ≤ 7 g/dL in ASA 1-2 patients, and when it was ≤ 8 g/dL in ASA 3-4 patients. The hemoglobin levels after transfusion favouring survival were ≥ 8 g/dL in ASA 1-2, p <0.0001 and 9-10 g/dL in ASA 3-4 patients; p = 0.0002.
Conclusions:
In patients with NV-AUGIB the physical performance status should dictate the transfusion strategy. In ASA 1-2 patients, admission hemoglobin values ≤ 7 g/dL should prompt transfusion, aiming at a target value of 8-9 g/dL; the corresponding figures for ASA 3-4 patients are: admission hemoglobin level ≤ 8 g/dL and target value of 9-10 g/dL.
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