• Cristina Sanz, Annabel Faúndez, Anna García, Marta Rodríguez, Anny Coromoto Jaramillo, and Arturo Pereira.
• Blood Bank and Transfusion Service, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: csanz@clinic.cat.
• Med Clin (Barc). 2022 Sep 9; 159 (5): 230233230-233.

BackgroundThere are few data on the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients who require blood transfusion. We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and indication for transfusion in COVID-19 patients seen during the epidemic's first wave.Material And MethodsCross-sectional study that included all consecutive COVID-19 patients admitted to the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, Spain, from mid-March to mid-May 2020.ResultsA total of 80 patients received 354 RBC units, 116 plasma units, and 48 platelet units. Median age was 71 years (IQR: 62-76), and 59 (74%) were males. In total, 138 of the 261 transfusion episodes that involved RBCs (59%) were related to spontaneous (n=94) or procedure-related (n=44) bleeding. Spontaneous bleeding was more frequent in the retroperitoneal space and the gastrointestinal apparatus. Tracheostomy with endotracheal intubation, surgical interventions, and cannulation of femoral vessels were the main procedures behind non-spontaneous bleeding. Most patients (91%) were on anticoagulants, mostly intermediate- or full-dose heparin.ConclusionAnticoagulation-related bleeding was a leading cause of blood transfusion in COVID-19 patients during the epidemic's first-wave.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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