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Thawed Plasma in Emergency Department Expedites Transfusion and May Benefit Trauma Patients

March 22, 2013

Expedited transfusion of plasma to severely injured trauma patients presenting to emergency departments (ED) may reduce overall blood product use and mortality, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Surgery. Using a retrospective cohort analysis of 294 adult trauma patients admitted to a level I trauma center, researchers evaluated the impact of a new program which placed readily available thawed plasma in the ED emergency release blood refrigerator. Prior to the program, thawed plasma had been available to patients from a blood bank close to the ED. Patients who received thawed plasma from the ED refrigerator received plasma earlier than patients admitted before the program was implemented (43 vs. 89 minutes, p< 0.001). In addition, the new program was associated with reduced 24-hour use of RBCs, plasma, and platelets, and decreased odds of 30-day mortality. A prospective randomized study is needed to further understand the effects of early plasma transfusion.

References

1.     Radwan ZA, Bai Y, Matijevic N, Del Junco DJ, McCarthy JJ, Wade CE, Holcomb JB, Cotton BA. An emergency department thawed plasma protocol for severely injured patients. JAMA Surg 2013;148: 170-5.

2.    Hiatt JR. Stopping the bleeding: comment on “an emergency department thawed plasma protocol for severely injured patients”. JAMA Surg 2013;148: 175-6.

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