Lower Mortality with Cryoprecipitate During Massive Transfusion in Penetrating but Not Blunt Trauma

Balanced blood product transfusion improves the outcomes of trauma patients with exsanguinating hemorrhage, but it remains unclear whether administering cryoprecipitate improves mortality. We aimed to examine the impact of early cryoprecipitate transfusion on the outcomes of the trauma patients needing massive transfusion (MT).

All MT patients 18 years or older in the 2017 Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) were retrospectively reviewed. MT was defined as the transfusion of ≥10 units of blood within 24 hours. Propensity score analysis (PSA) was used to 1:1 match then compare patients who received and those who did not receive cryoprecipitate in the first 4 hours after injury. Outcomes included in-hospital mortality, 1-day mortality, in-hospital complications and transfusion needs at 24 hours.

Of 1,004,440 trauma patients, 1,454 MT patients received cryoprecipitate and 2,920 did not. After PSA, 877 patients receiving cryoprecipitate were matched to 877 patients who did not. In-hospital mortality was lower among patients who received cryoprecipitate (49.4% v. 54.9%, P = 0.022), as was 1-day mortality. Sub-analyses showed that mortality was lower with cryoprecipitate in patients with penetrating (37.5% versus. 48%, adjusted P = 0.008), but not blunt trauma (58.5% versus. 59.8%, adjusted P = 1.000). In penetrating trauma, the cryoprecipitate group also had lower 1-day mortality (21.8% versus. 38.6%, P <0.001) and a higher rate of hemorrhage control surgeries performed within 24 hours (71.4% versus. 63.3%, P = 0.018).

Cryoprecipitate in MT is associated with improved survival in penetrating, but not blunt, trauma. Randomized trials are needed to better define the role of cryoprecipitate in MT.