Blood transfusion utilization in hospitalized COVID‐19 patients

• DOI: 10.1111/trf.15947
• Publication Date: 2020-06-25T05:46:31Z
• Authors: Christina M. Barr...; Patricia Bochey; Paul F. Lindholm; Karyn Hartman; Ricardo Sumugod; Glenn Ramsey
• Keywords: Chicago; Academic Medical Centers; Health Services Needs and Demand; Inpatients; Immunology; Hospital Departments; COVID-19; Blood Component Transfusion; Hematology; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation; 3. Good health; Appointments and Schedules; 03 medical and health sciences; Hospitals, Urban; 0302 clinical medicine; Elective Surgical Procedures; Immunology and Allergy; Humans; Blood Transfusion; Procedures and Techniques Utilization; Retrospective Studies

AbstractBackgroundThe acute respiratory illness designated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and caused a worldwide pandemic. Concerns arose about the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on blood donations and potential significant blood transfusion needs in severely ill COVID‐19 patients. Data on blood usage in hospitalized COVID‐19 patients are scarce.Study Design and MethodsWe performed a retrospective observational study of blood component transfusions in the first 4 weeks of COVID‐19 ward admissions. The study period began 14 days before the first COVID‐19 cohort wards opened in our hospital in March 2020 and ended 28 days afterward. The number of patients and blood components transfused in the COVID‐19 wards was tabulated. Transfusion rates of each blood component were compared in COVID‐19 wards versus all other inpatient wards.ResultsCOVID‐19 wards opened with seven suspected patients and after 4 weeks had 305 cumulative COVID‐19 admissions. Forty‐one of 305 hospitalized COVID‐19 patients (13.4%) received transfusions with 11.1% receiving red blood cells (RBCs), 1.6% platelets (PLTs), 1.0% plasma, and 1.0% cryoprecipitate (cryo). COVID‐19 wards had significantly lower transfusion rates compared to non‐COVID wards for RBCs (0.03 vs 0.08 units/patient‐day), PLTs (0.003 vs 0.033), and plasma (0.002 vs 0.018; all p < 0.0001). Cryo rates were similar (0.008 vs 0.009, p = 0.6).ConclusionsHospitalized COVID‐19 patients required many fewer blood transfusions than other hospitalized patients. COVID‐19 transfusion data will inform planning and preparation of blood resource utilization during the pandemic.