The regional whole blood program in San Antonio, TX: A 3-year update on prehospital and in-hospital transfusion practices for traumatic and non-traumatic hemorrhage.

Low titer type O Rh-D + whole blood (LTO + WB) has become a first-line resuscitation medium for hemorrhagic shock in many centers around the World. Showing early effectiveness on the battlefield, LTO + WB is used in both the pre-hospital and in-hospital settings for traumatic and non-traumatic hemorrhage resuscitation. Starting in 2018, the San Antonio Whole Blood Collaborative has worked to provide LTO + WB across Southwest Texas, initially in the form of remote damage control resuscitation followed by in-hospital trauma resuscitation. This program has since expanded to include pediatric trauma resuscitation, obstetric hemorrhage, females of childbearing potential, and non-traumatic hemorrhage. The objective of this manuscript is to provide a three-year update on the successes and expansion of this system and outline resuscitation challenges in special populations.

Risk factors of massive blood transfusion (MTP) in cesarean hysterectomy for placenta accreta spectrum.

BACKGROUND: Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS) represents a particularly morbid condition for which blood transfusion is the leading cause. Delivery by cesarean hysterectomy is recommended for the management of PAS. Massive Transfusion Protocols (MTP) in obstetrics vary in definition and implementation. Given the significant blood loss during PAS cesarean hysterectomy, this is particularly important for surgeons and blood banks. Our objective was to identify risk factors for MTP in patients with antenatally suspected PAS. METHODS: We performed a case-control study over a 11-year period from 2012 to 2022 at our center for Placenta Accreta Spectrum. MTP was defined by two methods, >4 units or > 10 units of red blood cells/whole blood transfused over 24 h. Antenatal, operative and post-operative outcomes were obtained from electronic medical records of these cases. RESULTS: During the study time frame, 142 cases were managed by our PAS team and met all criteria. 85 % (120/142) of patients were transfused at least 1 unit of blood, 64 patients (45 %) received 0-3 units of blood, 50 patients (35 %) received 4-9 units of blood and 28 patients (19.7 %) were transfused > 10 units of blood. Pre-delivery vaginal bleeding, preterm labor and delivery < 34 weeks were independently significant in transfused patients. ROC analysis revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.79 (p < 0.0001) in patients transfused > 10 units, showing predictive capability for this subgroup. DISCUSSION: We here report pre-operative risk factors for MTP in patients undergoing cesarean hysterectomy for PAS. This allows for both resource utilization and patient counseling for this morbid maternal condition.

Prehospital shock index and systolic blood pressure are highly specific for pediatric massive transfusion.

BACKGROUND: While massive transfusion protocols (MTPs) are associated with decreased mortality in adult trauma patients, there is limited research on the impact of MTP on pediatric trauma patients. The purpose of this study was to compare pediatric trauma patients requiring massive transfusion with all other pediatric trauma patients to identify triggers for MTP activation in injured children. METHODS: Using our level I trauma center's registry, we retrospectively identified all pediatric trauma patients from January 2015 to January 2018. Massive transfusion (MT) was defined as infusion of 40 mL/kg of blood products in the first 24 hours of admission. Patients missing prehospital vital sign data were excluded from the study. We retrospectively collected data including demographics, blood utilization, variable outcome data, prehospital vital signs, prehospital transport times, and Injury Severity Scores. Statistical significance was determined using Mann-Whitney U test and χ2 test. p Values of less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: Thirty-nine (1.9%) of the 2,035 pediatric patients met the criteria for MT. All-cause mortality in MT patients was 49% (19 of 39 patients) versus 0.01% (20 of 1996 patients) in non-MT patients. The two groups significantly differed in Injury Severity Score, prehospital vital signs, and outcome data.Both systolic blood pressure (SBP) of <100 mm Hg and shock index (SI) of >1.4 were found to be highly specific for MT with specificities of 86% and 92%, respectively. The combination of SBP of <100 mm Hg and SI of >1.4 had a specificity of 94%. The positive and negative predictive values of SBP of <100 mm Hg and SI of >1.4 in predicting MT were 18% and 98%, respectively. Based on positive likelihood ratios, patients with both SBP of <100 mm Hg and SI of >1.4 were 7.2 times more likely to require MT than patients who did not meet both of these vital sign criteria. CONCLUSION: Pediatric trauma patients requiring early blood transfusion present with lower blood pressures and higher heart rates, as well as higher SIs and lower pulse pressures. We found that SI and SBP are highly specific tools with promising likelihood ratios that could be used to identify patients requiring early transfusion. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic/care management, level V.

The frequency of herpes simplex virus changes in anal Pap smear and its association with squamous intraepithelial lesions in high-risk male patients.

While there are studies postulating a model of synergism between human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) in cervical carcinogenesis, the frequency of anal herpes as well as its association with anal squamous intraepithelial lesions (ASILs) has been understudied in men. This study evaluates the frequency of HSV changes in anal Pap smears and its association with ASILs in a high-risk population. A computerized search for specimens associated with anal cytology that had positive findings of HSV was performed. The electronic medical records were examined for past diagnosis of herpes, HSV serology prior to or after cytology, and if the patient received treatment after cytologic diagnosis of HSV. Of the 470 anal Pap smears (Thin-prep) examined, seven had cellular changes consistent with HSV infection. All patients were asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive males with no prior HSV serology tests. Two patients had prior diagnoses of HSV infection. Cytologic abnormalities were identified in 86% ranging from atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance to high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. Three patients were treated after the HSV cytologic diagnosis. The frequency of HSV changes in anal Pap smear is low (1.48%), but the presence of concomitant cytologic abnormalities is high (86%). While our findings suggest the possible role of HSV as a HPV co-factor in ASILs, larger studies are needed to support this. Identification of HSV infection on anal Pap smear is important for institution of patient treatment and subsequent reduction of transmission.