Objectives
To expedite delivery and transfusion of plasma through implementation of an emergency department (TP-ED) protocol.
Design
Retrospective cohort study
Setting
ACS-verified level 1 trauma center
Patients
Protocol was initiated February 2010, placing four units of AB plasma in the ED. All trauma patients admitted eight months before (TP-BB) and after implementing the TP-ED protocol. Patients were included if they received at least one unit of RBC and one unit of plasma in the first six hours after ED admission.
Main Outcome Measures
Primary outcome was time to first unit of plasma. Secondary outcomes included 24-hour blood use and 24-hour and 30-day mortality.
Results
294 patients met study criteria (130 TP-BB, 164 TP-ED). While demographics were similar, TP-ED patients had greater anatomic injury (median ISS 18 vs. 25, p=0.018) and more physiological disturbances (median w-RTS 6.81 vs. 3.83, p=0.008). TP-ED had shorter time to first plasma transfusion (83 min vs. 42 min, p<0.001). TP-ED was associated with a reduction in 24-hour transfusion of RBC (p=0.036), plasma (p=0.044), and platelets (p<0.001). Logistic regression identified TP-ED as an independent predictor of decreased 30-day mortality (OR 0.43, 95% C.I. 0.194–0.956, p=0.038).
Conclusions
We demonstrated that implementation of a ED-TP protocol expedites transfusion of plasma to severely injured patients. This approach is associated with a reduction in overall blood product use and a 60% decreased odds in 30-day mortality.