Civilian prehospital transfusion - experiences from a French region.

Background and objectives Haemorrhagic shock is a leading cause of avoidable mortality in prehospital care. For several years, our centre has followed a procedure of transfusing two units of packed red blood cells outside the hospital. Our study's aim was twofold: describe the patient characteristics of those receiving prehospital blood transfusions and analyse risk factors for the 7-day mortality rate. Materials and methods We performed a monocentric retrospective observational study. Demographic and physiological data were recovered from medical records. The primary outcome was mortality at seven days for all causes. All patients receiving prehospital blood transfusions between 2013 and 2018 were included. Results Out of 116 eligible patients, 56 patients received transfusions. Trauma patients (n = 18) were younger than medical patients (n = 38) (P = 0 center dot 012), had lower systolic blood pressure (P = 0 center dot 001) and had higher haemoglobin levels (P = 0 center dot 016). Mortality was higher in the trauma group than the medical group (P = 0 center dot 015). In-hospital trauma patients received more fresh-frozen plasma and platelet concentrate than medical patients (P < 0 center dot 05). Predictive factors of 7-day mortality included transfusion for trauma-related reasons, low Glasgow Coma Scale, low peripheral oxygen saturation, prehospital intensive resuscitation, existing coagulation disorders, acidosis and hyperlactataemia (P < 0 center dot 05). Conclusion Current guidelines recommend early transfusion in patients with haemorrhagic shock. Prehospital blood transfusions are safe. Coagulation disorders and acidosis remain a cause of premature death in patients with prehospital transfusions.