Blood Transfusion in the Critically Ill Patient

Anaemia is commonly seen in the intensive care unit and is a cause of increased morbidity in the critically ill patients. Blood transfusion seems to be the physiological solution for anaemia, however it is not without complications and associated risks, questioning the benefit of packed red blood cell transfusion in this population. Physiological thresholds for transfusion seem to be an interesting concept, but currently lack evidence. The transfusion trigger across most populations favours a restrictive strategy for packed red blood cell transfusion, with the exception of some subgroups. Despite the presence of storage lesions in old blood, evidence suggest that the freshest available blood, does not fare better than the oldest available blood from the blood bank. This article is a review of the current evidence with blood transfusion practices in the critically ill patients. Bangladesh Crit Care J March 2018; 6(1): 40-46