Trial reportInternal and emergency medicine2025
Optimal hemoglobin threshold for blood transfusions in sepsis and septic shock: a retrospective analysis.
Trial report in Internal and emergency medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Liberal transfusion strategies reduce sepsis risk and improve neurological recovery in acute brain injury: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Blood Transfusion Practices in Rural Hospitals: Indications, Challenges, and Practical Solutions.Cureus · 2026Review
- The challenge of sepsis in older adults in the Emergency Department and intensive care units.Critical care science · 2026Article
- Molecular Mechanisms of Transfusion-Associated Immunomodulation and Its Impact in the Critically Ill.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Transfusions of red blood cells (RBCs) are crucial for improving tissue oxygenation in anemic patients with sepsis. Nevertheless, the debate continues over the ideal hemoglobin level for transfusions. This study aimed to assess the impact of different hemoglobin levels on the outcomes of patients with sepsis who received transfusions. This retrospective analysis included adult patients with sepsis treated in the general medical ward and intensive care unit at a University affiliate hospital. Patients needing RBC transfusions were included. The primary outcome was the 28-day mortality rate. From March 2018 to January 2022, 806 patients were studied. Of these, 480 (59.6%) were transfused at hemoglobin levels of 7-9 g/dL ("liberal group"), while 326 (40.4%) received RBC transfusions when their hemoglobin was < 7 g/dL ("restrictive group"). Mean hemoglobin levels at transfusion were 8.1 ± 0.8 g/dL and 6.3 ± 0.8 g/dL for each group, respectively(P < 0.001). On day 28, the liberal group had a mortality rate of 51.2% (246 patients), compared to 59.2% (193 patients) in the restrictive group (Odds ratio [OR] 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.79-0.98, P = 0.031). Adjusted comparisons showed 46.8% mortality in the liberal group (141/301patients) versus 59.3% in the restrictive group (178/300patients) at 28 days (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.66-0.92, P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis revealed transfusion at hemoglobin 7-9 g/dL as an independent variable linked to lower 28-day mortality (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.49-0.99, P = 0.042). Other factors correlated with 28-day mortality were platelet counts ≤ 150 × 10
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