Arnaud Cassignol1, Julien Marmin1, Pascal Mattei2, Léa Goffinet3, Sandrine Pons4, Aurélien Renard5, Didier Demory6, Julien Bordes7. 1. SMUR Department, Timone Hospital, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France. 2. SMUR Department, Sainte-Musse Public Hospital, Toulon, France. 3. French Blood Establishment, Sainte-Musse Public Hospital, Toulon, France. 4. French Blood Establishment, Sainte-Anne Military Hospital, Toulon, France. 5. Emergency Department, Sainte-Anne Military Hospital, Toulon, France. 6. Clinical Research Unit, Sainte-Musse Public Hospital, Toulon, France. 7. Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department, Sainte-Anne Military Hospital, Toulon, France.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Haemorrhagic shock is a leading cause of avoidable mortality in prehospital care. For several years, our centre has followed a procedure of transfusing two units of packed red blood cells outside the hospital. Our study's aim was twofold: describe the patient characteristics of those receiving prehospital blood transfusions and analyse risk factors for the 7-day mortality rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a monocentric retrospective observational study. Demographic and physiological data were recovered from medical records. The primary outcome was mortality at seven days for all causes. All patients receiving prehospital blood transfusions between 2013 and 2018 were included. RESULTS: Out of 116 eligible patients, 56 patients received transfusions. Trauma patients (n = 18) were younger than medical patients (n = 38) (P = 0·012), had lower systolic blood pressure (P = 0·001) and had higher haemoglobin levels (P = 0·016). Mortality was higher in the trauma group than the medical group (P = 0·015). In-hospital trauma patients received more fresh-frozen plasma and platelet concentrate than medical patients (P < 0·05). Predictive factors of 7-day mortality included transfusion for trauma-related reasons, low Glasgow Coma Scale, low peripheral oxygen saturation, prehospital intensive resuscitation, existing coagulation disorders, acidosis and hyperlactataemia (P < 0·05). CONCLUSION: Current guidelines recommend early transfusion in patients with haemorrhagic shock. Prehospital blood transfusions are safe. Coagulation disorders and acidosis remain a cause of premature death in patients with prehospital transfusions.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Haemorrhagic shock is a leading cause of avoidable mortality in prehospital care. For several years, our centre has followed a procedure of transfusing two units of packed red blood cells outside the hospital. Our study's aim was twofold: describe the patient characteristics of those receiving prehospital blood transfusions and analyse risk factors for the 7-day mortality rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a monocentric retrospective observational study. Demographic and physiological data were recovered from medical records. The primary outcome was mortality at seven days for all causes. All patients receiving prehospital blood transfusions between 2013 and 2018 were included. RESULTS: Out of 116 eligible patients, 56 patients received transfusions. Traumapatients (n = 18) were younger than medical patients (n = 38) (P = 0·012), had lower systolic blood pressure (P = 0·001) and had higher haemoglobin levels (P = 0·016). Mortality was higher in the trauma group than the medical group (P = 0·015). In-hospital traumapatients received more fresh-frozen plasma and platelet concentrate than medical patients (P < 0·05). Predictive factors of 7-day mortality included transfusion for trauma-related reasons, low Glasgow Coma Scale, low peripheral oxygen saturation, prehospital intensive resuscitation, existing coagulation disorders, acidosis and hyperlactataemia (P < 0·05). CONCLUSION: Current guidelines recommend early transfusion in patients with haemorrhagic shock. Prehospital blood transfusions are safe. Coagulation disorders and acidosis remain a cause of premature death in patients with prehospital transfusions.