A State-wide Retrospective Cohort Study Examining Effects of Transfusing Old Blood Products in Vascular Surgical Patients

Obonyo, N., Lu, L., Nadeem, Z., Hosseinzadeh, Z., Rachakonda, R., White, N., Sela, D., Tunbridge, M., Sim, B., See Hoe, L., Sivakumaran, Y., Li Bassi, G., Fanning, J., Tung, J., Suen, J., Fraser, J. Journal of Vascular Research DOI: 10.1159/000548049

Abstract: We investigated the effects of transfusing blood products close to the expiration date (i.e., ≥35 days packed red blood cells [PRBCs] and >3 days platelets [PLTs]) on vascular patients. We retrospectively examined all PRBC and PLT transfusions in patients who underwent vascular procedures without cardiopulmonary bypass in Queensland from 2007 to 2013. Mortality, length of stay (LOS), and blood product quantities were compared in patients transfused exclusively with PRBCs <21 days vs. PRBCs ≥35 days and PLTs ≤3 days vs. PLTs >3 days.