The impact of pathogen‐reduced platelets in acute leukaemia treatment on the total blood product requirement: a subgroup analysis of an EFFIPAP randomised trial

Objective To evaluate the impact of pathogen‐reduced (PR) platelet transfusions on blood products requirement for clinical practice. Background PR platelets are increasing in use as standard blood products. However, few randomised trials have evaluated their impact on bleeding control or prevention. Furthermore, PR platelets recirculate less than untreated platelets. Methods A subgroup study of the randomised clinical trial EFFIPAP compared three arms of platelet preparations (PR: P‐PRP/PAS, additive solution: P‐PAS and plasma P‐P arms respectively). The subgroup of acute leukaemia patients, in their chemotherapy induction phase, included 392 patients (133 P‐PRP/PAS arm, 132 P‐PAS arm and 130 P‐P arm). Blood requirements were analysed across over periods of 7 days. Results The number of platelet transfusions per week was significantly higher in the P‐PRP/PAS group 2.3 [1.6–3.3] compared to the control groups 1.9 [1.3–2.8] and 2.0 [1.3–3.0] for P‐P and P‐PAS groups respectively (p