Table 2.
Characteristics of patients according to the lowest hemoglobin concentration on the day of transfusion
| Lowest hemoglobin concentration on day of transfusion, mean ± SD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Transfusion on day of admission | Transfusion at any time during ICU staya | ||||
| Number | Numberb | Min | Max | Mean | ||
| All patients | 1170 | 8.3 ± 2.2 | 2470 | 7.9 ± 1.7 | 8.6 ± 1.8 | 8.3 ± 1.7 |
| Age, years | *** | * | *** | |||
| 16–50 | 312 | 8.2 ± 2.4 | 605 | 7.7 ± 1.9 | 8.5 ± 1.9 | 8.1 ± 1.8 |
| 51–65 | 321 | 8.4 ± 2.1 | 731 | 7.9 ± 1.6 | 8.6 ± 1.7 | 8.2 ± 1.6 |
| 66–75 | 267 | 8.5 ± 2.1 | 578 | 8.0 ± 1.8 | 8.7 ± 1.7 | 8.4 ± 1.6 |
| >75 | 267 | 8.3 ± 2.0 | 551 | 8.1 ± 1.7 | 8.7 ± 1.7 | 8.4 ± 1.7 |
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 463 | 8.3 ± 2.1 | 984 | 7.9 ± 1.7 | 8.6 ± 1.8 | 8.2 ± 1.6 |
| Male | 693 | 8.3 ± 2.2 | 1466 | 7.9 ± 1.7 | 8.6 ± 1.8 | 8.3 ± 1.6 |
| Type of admission | *** | *** | *** | *** | ||
| Surgical | 671 | 8.8 ± 2.1 | 1237 | 8.2 ± 1.7 | 8.9 ± 1.8 | 8.6 ± 1.7 |
| Medical | 392 | 7.6 ± 2.1 | 973 | 7.5 ± 1.7 | 8.3 ± 1.7 | 7.9 ± 1.6 |
| Trauma | 69 | 8.4 ± 2.1 | 167 | 8.0 ± 1.6 | 8.7 ± 1.7 | 8.3 ± 1.6 |
| Others | 3 | 6.8 ± 2.6 | 10 | 7.9 ± 2.2 | 8.5 ± 2.2 | 8.2 ± 2.2 |
| SAPS II | *** | *** | *** | *** | ||
| 0–28 | 188 | 8.7 ± 2.4 | 345 | 8.2 ± 2.0 | 8.9 ± 2.0 | 8.6 ± 1.9 |
| 29–39 | 319 | 8.7 ± 2.2 | 657 | 8.2 ± 1.8 | 8.8 ± 1.8 | 8.5 ± 1.7 |
| 40–51 | 284 | 8.1 ± 2.0 | 655 | 7.7 ± 1.5 | 8.4 ± 1.6 | 8.1 ± 1.4 |
| 52–119 | 379 | 8.0 ± 2.0 | 813 | 7.7 ± 1.7 | 8.5 ± 1.8 | 8.1 ± 1.6 |
| SOFA score on admission to the ICU | * | *** | ** | |||
| 0–3 | 188 | 8.5 ± 2.5 | 353 | 8.2 ± 2.1 | 8.8 ± 1.9 | 8.5 ± 1.9 |
| 4–5 | 169 | 8.5 ± 2.3 | 375 | 8.1 ± 1.8 | 8.7 ± 1.8 | 8.4 ± 1.8 |
| 6–8 | 292 | 8.5 ± 2.0 | 665 | 8.0 ± 1.6 | 8.6 ± 1.7 | 8.3 ± 1.5 |
| >8 | 521 | 8.1 ± 2.1 | 1077 | 7.7 ± 1.7 | 8.6 ± 1.8 | 8.1 ± 1.6 |
| ICU length of stay, days | *** | *** | *** | *** | ||
| 1 | 197 | 7.8 ± 2.3 | 235 | 7.8 ± 2.2 | 8.0 ± 2.2 | 7.9 ± 2.2 |
| 2–3 | 360 | 8.4 ± 2.1 | 589 | 8.2 ± 1.8 | 8.6 ± 1.8 | 8.4 ± 1.7 |
| 4–7 | 318 | 8.5 ± 2.1 | 629 | 8.1 ± 1.7 | 8.7 ± 1.8 | 8.4 ± 1.7 |
| >7 | 271 | 8.3 ± 2.1 | 944 | 7.6 ± 1.5 | 8.7 ± 1.7 | 8.1 ± 1.4 |
| Sepsis | * | ** | ||||
| No | 734 | 8.4 ± 2.2 | 1283 | 8.1 ± 1.9 | 8.6 ± 1.8 | 8.4 ± 1.8 |
| Yes | 436 | 8.1 ± 2.0 | 1187 | 7.7 ± 1.6 | 8.6 ± 1.7 | 8.1 ± 1.5 |
| Geographic region | *** | *** | ** | *** | ||
| Africa | 24 | 9.0 ± 2.4 | 38 | 8.5 ± 2.2 | 9.1 ± 2 | 8.8 ± 2 |
| Middle East | 35 | 7.7 ± 2.3 | 111 | 7.4 ± 1.4 | 8.3 ± 1.6 | 7.8 ± 1.4 |
| South America | 86 | 8.7 ± 2.4 | 205 | 8.0 ± 2.0 | 8.7 ± 2.0 | 8.3 ± 1.9 |
| North America | 92 | 8.2 ± 2 | 183 | 7.5 ± 1.6 | 8.3 ± 1.6 | 7.9 ± 1.4 |
| Western Europe | 510 | 8.1 ± 1.8 | 1099 | 7.8 ± 1.4 | 8.5 ± 1.5 | 8.1 ± 1.4 |
| Eastern Europe | 211 | 8.8 ± 2.2 | 378 | 8.4 ± 2 | 9.3 ± 2 | 8.9 ± 1.9 |
| Oceania | 39 | 8.5 ± 1.9 | 91 | 7.9 ± 1.5 | 8.5 ± 1.5 | 8.2 ± 1.4 |
| South East Asia | 110 | 8.0 ± 2.4 | 232 | 7.7 ± 1.9 | 8.5 ± 1.9 | 8.1 ± 1.8 |
| South Asia | 63 | 8.8 ± 3.2 | 133 | 8.1 ± 2.5 | 8.9 ± 2.4 | 8.5 ± 2.3 |
Hb hemoglobin, SOFA Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, SAPS II Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, ICU intensive care unit, IQ interquartile
aSome patients were transfused several times hence, minimum (Min), maximum (Max) and mean values are given
bIn total 2511 patients received a transfusion but numbers in different categories vary because of missing data
*p = 0.01–0.05; **p = 0.01–0.001; ***p < 0.001 among groups