Research Information System
Medical Journal of Bakirkoy, vol.18, no.3, pp.356-363, 2022 (ESCI)
© Copyright 2022 by Medical Journal of Bakırköy published by Galenos Yayınevi.Objective: The number of studies investigating the requirement for red blood cell (RBC) transfusions and the effects of transfusions on mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is limited. This study investigated the relationship between RBC transfusions and the prognostic laboratory criteria of COVID-19, ICU length of stay, and mortality in ICU patients with a diagnosis COVID-19. Methods: This retrospective study included 401 patients aged 18 years and older who were followed up and treated in the ICU with a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction test result for COVID-19 between September 01, 2020 and January 31, 2021. After obtaining the ethics committee approval, the demographic data, clinical data, and laboratory results of the patients included in the study were screened from the electronic medical record system and recorded in data-recording forms. Results: The mean age of the 393 patients included in the analyses was 69.42±12.90 years, and 52.7% were male. Eighty-eight percent (n=346) of the patients had comorbidities, with 35.9% having three or more comorbidities. Forty (10.2%) patients who received transfusion had higher values of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation score (p<0.05), ICU length of stay (p<0.001), D-dimer (p<0.05), brain natriuretic peptide (p=0.001), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (p<0.05), and creatinine (p=0.001) than those without transfusion. The lowest hemoglobin value (p<0.001) and LDH value (p<0.05) were found to be factors effective in transfusion status. The mortality rate was higher in patients who required RBC transfusions (72.5%) than in patients without transfusion requirements (45.9%) (p=0.001). The rate of having three or more diseases was higher in patients with transfusions (55.0%) than in patients without transfusions (33.7%) (p<0.05). Conclusion: This retrospective study demonstrated the association of RBC transfusions with an increase in ICU length of stay and mortality. The decision of transfusion for the critically ill group followed up in the COVID-19 ICU should be individualized, and unnecessary transfusions should be avoided.