Table 2 Red blood cell transfusion and weaning outcome
Result | All patients (n = 378) | Transfused (n = 168) | Non-transfused (n = 210) | P valuee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
RBC transfusion | ||||
 Mean hemoglobin in the course of weaning (g/dl)a | 9.3 (± 1.0) | 8.9 (± 0.8) | 9.7 (± 1.1) | <  0.001b |
 Pre-transfusion hemoglobin value (g/dl) | 7.5 (± 0.5) | 7.5 (± 0.5) |  | – |
 No. of transfusion episodes | 361 | 361 |  | – |
   Transfusion episodes per patient | 1.0 (± 1.6) | 2.2 (± 1.9) |  | – |
 No. of transfused RBC units | 580 | 580 |  | – |
   RBC units per patient | 1.5 (± 2.9) | 3.5 (± 3.6) |  | – |
 Transfusion reactions | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |  |  |
 Transfusion of FFP and/or platelets | 8 (2.1) | 8 (4.8) | 0 (0.0) | <  0.001c |
 Bleeding complications | 21 (5.6) | 17 (10.1) | 4 (1.9) | <  0.001d |
   Gastrointestinal bleeding | 12 (3.2) | 10 (5.6) | 2 (1.0) | n.s.d |
   Other bleeding events | 9 (2.4) | 7 (4.2) | 2 (1.0) | n.s.d |
Weaning outcome | ||||
 Weaning success (Category 3a/3b) | 264 (69.8) | 107 (63.7) | 157 (74.8) | 0.020d |
   Category 3a | 191 (50.5) | 84 (78.5) | 107 (68.2) | n.s.d |
   Category 3b | 73 (19.3) | 23 (21.5) | 50 (31.8) | 0.013d |
 Weaning failure (Category 3c) | 114 (30.2) | 61 (36.3) | 53 (25.2) | 0.022d |
   Invasive HMV | 101 (26.7) | 51 (30.4) | 50 (23.8) | n.s.d |
   Death on ventilation | 13 (3.4) | 10 (5.6) | 3 (1.4) | 0.016d |
 Long-term ventilator dependencyf | 174 (46.0) | 74 (44.0) | 100 (47.6) | n.s.d |
 Weaning duration (days) | 23.0 (± 16.2) | 29.9 (± 20.0) | 17.5 (± 9.1) | <  0.001b |
 Hospital length of stay (days) | 48.0 (± 33.9) | 57.7 (± 44.1) | 39.0 (± 26.4) | <  0.001b |
 Hospital mortality | 45 (11.9) | 31 (18.5) | 14 (6.7) | <  0.001d |