Transfusion practice in the bleeding critically ill: An international online survey-The TRACE-2 survey.

BACKGROUND: Transfusion is very common in the intensive care unit (ICU), but practice is highly variable, as has recently been shown in non-bleeding critically ill patients practices survey. Bleeding patients in ICU require different blood products across a range of specific patient categories. We hypothesize that a large variety in transfusion practice exists in bleeding patients. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: An international online survey was performed among physicians working in the ICU. Transfusion practice in massively and non-massively bleeding patients was examined, including transfusion ratios, thresholds, and the presence of transfusion guidelines. RESULTS: Six hundred eleven respondents filled in the survey of which 401 could be analyzed, representing 64 countries. Among the respondents, 52% had a massive transfusion protocol (MTP) available at their ICU. In massively bleeding patients, 46% of the respondents used fixed transfusion component ratios. Of those who used fixed blood ratios, the 1:1:1 ratio (red blood cell [RBC] concentrates: plasma: platelet concentrates) was most commonly used (33%). The presence of an MTP was associated with a more frequent use of fixed ratios (p < .001). For RBC transfusion in the general non-massively bleeding ICU population, a hemoglobin (Hb) threshold of 7.0[7.0-7.3] g/dl was reported. In the general ICU population, a platelet count threshold of 50[26-50] × 109 /L was applied. DISCUSSION: Half of the centers had no massive transfusion protocol available. Transfusion practice in massively bleeding critically ill patients is highly variable and driven by the presence of an MTP. In the general non-massively bleeding ICU population restrictive transfusion triggers were chosen.

Incidence of transfusion-related acute lung injury temporally associated with solvent/detergent plasma use in the ICU: A retrospective before and after implementation study.

BACKGROUND: Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a severe complication of plasma transfusion, though the use of solvent/detergent pooled plasma (SDP) has nearly eliminated reported TRALI cases. The goal of this study was to investigate the incidence of TRALI in intensive care units (ICU) following the replacement of quarantined fresh frozen plasma (qFFP) by SDP. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A retrospective multicenter observational before-after cohort study was performed during two 6-month periods, before (April-October 2014) and after the introduction of SDP (April-October 2015), accounting for a washout period. A full chart review was performed for patients who received ≥1 plasma units and developed hypoxemia within 24 h. RESULTS: During the study period, 8944 patients were admitted to the ICU. Exactly 1171 quarantine fresh frozen plasma (qFFP) units were transfused in 376 patients, and respectively, 2008 SDP units to 396 patients after implementation. Ten TRALI cases occurred during the qFFP and nine cases occurred during the SDP period, in which plasma was transfused. The incidence was 0.85% (CI95%: 0.33%-1.4%) per unit qFFP and 0.45% (CI95%: 0.21%-0.79%, p = 0.221) per SDP unit. One instance of TRALI occurred after a single SDP unit. Mortality was 70% for patients developing TRALI in the ICU compared with 22% in patients receiving at least one plasma transfusion. CONCLUSION: Implementation of SDP lowered the incidence of TRALI in which plasma products were implicated, though not significantly. Clinically diagnosed TRALI can still occur following SDP transfusion. Developing TRALI in the ICU was associated with high mortality rates, therefore, clinicians should remain vigilant.

Gender and age concordance between patient and GP: an observational study on associations with referral behaviour.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate referral from primary to secondary care is essential for maintaining a healthcare system that is accessible and cost-effective. Social concordance can affect the doctor-patient interaction and possibly also referral behaviour. AIM: To investigate the association of gender concordance and age concordance on referral rates in primary care in The Netherlands. DESIGN & SETTING: Electronic health records data (n = 24 841) were used from 65 GPs in The Netherlands, containing referral information, which was combined with demographics of GPs and patients to investigate factors associated with referral likelihood. METHOD: Health records covered 16 different symptoms and diagnoses, categorised as 'gender sensitive', 'age sensitive', 'both age and gender sensitive', or 'neutral' based on Delphi consensus. Multi-level logistic regressions were performed to calculate the associations of gender and age concordance with referral status. RESULTS: Overall, 16.8% of patients were referred to a medical specialist. The female-male dyad (GP-patient) was associated with a higher referral likelihood (odds ratio [OR] 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02 to 1.27; P = 0.02) compared with the female-female dyad. Gender discordance was associated with a higher referral likelihood regarding consultations involving 'gender-sensitive' symptoms and diagnoses (OR 1.21; CI = 1.02 to 1.44; P = 0.03), and in duo and group practices (OR 1.08; 95% CI = 1.00 to 1.16; P = 0.05). Age concordance was not a significant predictor of referrals in the main model nor in subgroup analyses. CONCLUSION: Gender discordance was associated with a higher likelihood of referring. This study adds to the evidence that gender concordance affects decisions to refer, particularly with respect to symptoms and diagnoses that can be regarded as 'gender sensitive'.