• Ilusca Cardoso de Paula, Luciano Cesar Pontes Azevedo, Luiz Fernando dos Reis Falcão, Bruno Franco Mazza, Melca Maria Oliveira Barros, Flavio Geraldo Rezende Freitas, and Flávia Ribeiro Machado.
• Setor de Terapia Intensiva, Disciplina de Anestesiologia, Dor e Medicina Intensiva da Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
• Braz J Anesthesiol. 2014 May 1;64(3):183-9.

Background And Objectivesanemia is a common clinical finding in intensive care units. The red blood cell transfusion is the main form of treatment, despite the associated risks. Thus, we proposed to evaluate the profile of transfusional patients in different intensive care units.Methodsprospective analysis of patients admitted in the intensive care units of a tertiary university hospital with an indication for transfusion of packed red blood cells. Demographic profile and transfusional profile were collected, a univariate analysis was done, and the results were considered significant at p ≤ 0.05.Results408 transfusions were analyzed in 71 patients. The mean hemoglobin concentration on admission was 9.7 ± 2.3g/dL and the pre-transfusional concentration was 6.9 ± 1.1g/dL. The main indications for transfusion were hemoglobin concentration (49%) and active bleeding (32%). The median number of units transfused per episode was 2 (1-2) and the median storage time was 14 (7-21) days. The number of patients transfused with hemoglobin levels greater than 7 g/dL and the number of bags transfused per episode were significantly different among intensive care units. Patients who received three or more transfusions had longer mechanical ventilation time and intensive care unit stay and higher mortality after 60 days. There was an association of mortality with disease severity but not with transfusional characteristics.Conclusionsthe practice of blood products transfusion was partially in agreement with the guidelines recommended, although there are differences in behavior between the different profiles of intensive care units. Transfused patients evolved with unfavorable outcomes. Despite the scarcity of blood in blood banks, the mean storage time of the bags was high.Copyright © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

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