Prospective Inverse Probability of Treatment-Weighting Analysis of the Clinical Outcome of Red Blood Cell Transfusion Practice in Critically Ill Children

Objective To study the clinical outcomes of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion practices in critically ill children. Method This prospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary care pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) from March-2015 to January-2018. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) using propensity score analysis was used. Children aged 1 mo to 12 y admitted to the PICU were screened. Patients were classified into ‘transfused’ and ‘nontransfused’, based on whether they received a transfusion or not. Patients with hematological malignancies, or immunosuppressant drugs, or those who received repeated transfusions, or received transfusion before admission, or died within 24 h were excluded. The primary outcome was all-cause 28 d mortality. Secondary outcomes were new-onset organ dysfunction, mechanical ventilation duration, and length of PICU and hospital stay. Results A total of 1014 patients [transfused = 277; nontransfused = 737) were included. In IPTW analysis, the risk of all-cause 28 d mortality was 53% higher in transfused than nontransfused patients [hazard ratio = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.18–1.98, p = 0.001 by Log-rank test]. Organ dysfunction was higher in transfused than nontransfused patients [3.8% vs. 1.3%, hazard ratio = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.40–6.48, p = 0.005]. The risk of staying in the mechanical ventilation was similar in both groups [hazard ratio = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.86–1.23, p = 0.756]. The risk of extended stay in the PICU and hospital was 16% and 21% higher in transfused than nontransfused patients [hazard ratio = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03–1.30; p = 0.005; and 1.21, 95% CI: 1.08–1.36; p = 0.001], respectively. Conclusion Red blood cell transfusion was independently associated with higher all-cause 28 d mortality and morbidities in critically ill children.