Blood Component Therapy in COVID-19 Patients Hospitalized in a Tertiary Care Centre in Eastern India (preprint)

Background: Most patients with COVID-19 do not need blood transfusion and only a subset of critically ill patients requires transfusion. Here we described the pattern of blood usage in COVID-19 patients in our hospital with regards to indications, clinical and laboratory evaluations and blood and blood component transfusions. Methods: This is a retrospective study that included 34 hospitalized transfused patients admitted with clinical features and diagnosis of COVID-19. Demographic, clinical, laboratory and blood transfusion details were obtained from patient files and blood bank software. Statistical analysis was done using the IBM SPSS statistical package. Findings: Among the 419 hospitalized COVID-19 patients 34 (8.1%) received blood transfusion. Levels of D-dimer, serum ferritin and IL-6 as high as 8545 ng/mL, 8486 ng/mL and 256 pg/mL respectively were observed in few patients. Co-morbidity was demonstrated in 91.2% transfused patients. A total of 6 (17.6%) patients succumbed to the disease. Packed red blood cell was the main blood component transfused to COVID-19 patients followed by platelet and plasma products. A rise in trend in blood utilization was demonstrated from March to June 2020 with a dip in July 2020. Compared to other months more patients required platelet concentrates in June 2020. Interpretation: Blood utilization in COVID-19 patients is usually low and does not affect the blood inventory significantly. Most transfused patients have been critically ill and the trend in blood utilization in COVID-19 patients may be difficult to ascertain. Funding Statement: The study did not require any funding. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: Prior approval from the institute ethics committee.