• Oliver Karam, Marisa Tucci, Thierry Ducruet, Heather Anne Hume, Jacques Lacroix, France Gauvin, Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, and PALISI Network.
• Pediatric Critical Care Unit, Sainte-Justine Hospital and Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2011 Sep 1;12(5):512-8.

ObjectivesIn children with severe sepsis or septic shock, the optimal red blood cell transfusion threshold is unknown. We analyzed the subgroup of patients with sepsis and transfusion requirements in a pediatric intensive care unit study to determine the impact of a restrictive vs. liberal transfusion strategy on clinical outcome.DesignSubgroup analysis of a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.SettingMulticenter pediatric critical care units.PatientsStabilized critically ill children (mean systemic arterial pressure >2 sd below normal mean for age and cardiovascular support not increased for at least 2 hrs before enrollment) with a hemoglobin ≤ 9.5 g/dL within 7 days after pediatric critical care unit admission.InterventionsOne hundred thirty-seven stabilized critically ill children with sepsis were randomized to receive red blood cell transfusion if their hemoglobin decreased to either <7.0 g/dL (restrictive group) or 9.5 g/dL (liberal group).Measurements And Main ResultsIn the restrictive group (69 patients), 30 patients did not receive any red blood cell transfusion, whereas only one patient in the liberal group (68 patients) never underwent transfusion (p < .01). No clinically significant differences were found for the occurrence of new or progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (18.8% vs. 19.1%; p = .97), for pediatric critical care unit length of stay (p = .74), or for pediatric critical care unit mortality (p = .44) in the restrictive vs. liberal group.ConclusionsIn this subgroup analysis of children with stable sepsis, we found no evidence that a restrictive red cell transfusion strategy, as compared to a liberal one, increased the rate of new or progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. Furthermore, a restrictive transfusion threshold significantly reduced exposure to blood products. Our data suggest that a hemoglobin level of 7.0 g/dL may be safe stabilized for children with sepsis, but further studies are required to support this recommendation.

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