Risk factors and outcome of transfusion-related acute lung injury in the critically ill: A nested case-control study.

The originality of this retrospective study was to identify the risk factors to develop a TRALI in transfused patients compared to patients transfused without development of ALI and patients with ALI due to an another cause.

The authors noted that TRALI compared with patients transfused without ALI was associated with emergency cardiac surgery, hematologic malignancy, massive transfusion (volume of plasma and platelets), sepsis, mechanical ventilation and high APACHE II score. Compared to patients with ALI of other origins, risk factors were sepsis and high APACHE II score. Nevertheless, patients with TRALI had a longer duration of mechanical ventilation and a lower 90-day survival.

This study highlights the adverse outcomes associated with transfusion, especially compared to patients with ALI from another origin.

– Michael Piagnerelli