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BACKGROUND: Expired blood can be transfused if clinically indicated but outcome data do not exist. We hypothesized that modestly outdated blood can effectively support a hemorrhaging patient until surgical control is achieved. This study assessed whether expired blood was associated with mortality in combat trauma patients. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of Armed Services Blood Program and Department of Defense Trauma Registry databases evaluated combat casualty records (2001-2023). The intervention of interest was transfusion of at least one unit of whole blood (WB), red blood cells (RBC), or platelets within one week past expiration. The outcome of interest was mortality at discharge. A control cohort that only received in-date blood was matched to the treatment cohort for logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: One hundred patients received expired RBCs (86), WB (11), and platelets (3). Mortality at discharge was 11.6% for expired RBC recipients and 13.4% for the control cohort (p = .97). After adjustment for injury severity, expired RBCs were not associated with mortality (OR = 0.40 [95% CI, 0.14-1.16]; p = .09). Of 10 patients who received the most expired RBCs by volume or storage duration, two were deceased at discharge. All 14 expired WB and platelet recipients were alive at discharge, but sample sizes were underpowered for regression analysis. DISCUSSION: Transfusion of modestly outdated RBCs was not associated with mortality in combat trauma patients. Expired WB and platelet recipients did well, but sample sizes were too small to draw significant conclusions. Expired blood should be further investigated for possible use in extenuating circumstances.
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ABSTRACT: Introduction : COVID-19-induced coagulopathy (CIC) can increase the risk of thromboembolism without underlying clotting disorders, even when compared with other respiratory viruses. Trauma has a known association with hypercoagulability. Trauma patients with concurrent COVID-19 infection potentially have an even greater risk of thrombotic events. The purpose of this study was to evaluate venous thromboembolism (VTE) rates in trauma patients with COVID-19. Methods : This study reviewed all adult patients (≥18 years of age) admitted to the Trauma Service from April through November 2020 for a minimum of 48 hours. Patients were grouped based off COVID-19 status and compared for inpatient VTE chemoprophylaxis regimen, thrombotic complications defined as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular accident, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, hospital length of stay, and mortality. Results : A total of 2,907 patients were reviewed and grouped into COVID-19-positive (n = 110) and COVID-19-negative (n = 2,797) groups. There was no difference in terms of receiving deep vein thrombosis chemoprophylaxis or type, but a longer time to initiation in the positive group ( P = 0.0012). VTE occurred in 5 (4.55%) positive and 60 (2.15%) negative patients without a significant difference between the groups, as well as no difference in type of VTE observed. Mortality was higher ( P = 0.009) in the positive group (10.91%). Positive patients had longer median ICU LOS ( P = 0.0012) and total LOS ( P < 0.001). Conclusion : There were no increased rates of VTE complications between COVID-19-positive and -negative trauma patients, despite a longer time to initiation of chemoprophylaxis in the COVID-19-positive group. COVID-19-positive patients had increased ICU LOS, total LOS, and mortality, which are likely due to multifactorial causes but primarily related to their underlying COVID-19 infection.
