In COVID-19 Patients Supported with ECMO, ICU Mortality Is Associated with the Blood Transfusion Rate

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov December 18, 2024

Three-quarters of patients <50 years old and half of patients ≥50 years were successfully discharged from ICU. Higher daily transfusion rates were associated with significantly increased ICU mortality, irrespective of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) duration. Reduced blood transfusion may improve the survival of these patients. This approach could also contribute to the measures taken to address the challenges of blood shortages occurring during pandemics and other global or national emergencies. Data were retrieved from the electronic databases of three Israeli tertiary care centers. All COVID-19 patients treated with ECMO for >3 days in these centers between July 2020 and November 2021 were included in the analysis.