Relationship Between Hemoglobin Level and the Expiration Date of Transfused Blood With the Death of Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit

Background and Objectives In this study, we aim to investigate the relationship of the numbers of days until blood expiration and pre-transfusion hemoglobin level with mortality rate in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and received packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion. Subjects and Methods This is a retrospective cross-sectional study that was performed in 2020 on 205 patients admitted to the ICU of Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan, Iran in the past year and received PRBC transfusion. Their demographic information as well as information about related to the blood such as the number of days until PRBC expiration and pre-transfusion hemoglobin level were extracted from the patient’s medical records. Results The mean pre-transfusion hemoglobin level of patients was 10.53±2.8 g/dL. Male patients had significantly higher hemoglobin level than female patients (P<0.05). Of 205 patients, 55(26.8%) had a death outcome. The mortality rate was significantly higher in males than in females (P<0.05). The number of days until PRBC expiration was 11.52±3.71 days. It was not significantly different between the deceased and surviving patients (P>0.05). Also, the hemoglobin level of the deceased patients was significantly lower than that of surviving patients (P<0.05). The patients with underlying diseases had significantly lower pre-transfusion hemoglobin level and higher mortality. Conclusion The mortality rate among ICU patients received PRBC transfusion in the study hospital is 26.8%.