Background: Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion can be lifesaving. However, in many clinical cases, including acute coronary syndromes, percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), cardiac surgery, and acute critical care, detrimental effects (excess death and myocardial infarction [MI], and also lung infections) have been observed in patients after a RBC transfusion.
Aim: To evaluate the long-term impact on the prognosis of patients who received a RBC transfusion after PCI for the treatment of ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI).
Methods: Between 1999 and 2004, 2,415 consecutive patients, with an STEMI treated with PCI, were included in the analysis. The patients were divided into two groups: 82 patients with a RBC transfusion (3.5%) and 2,333 without a RBC transfusion (96.5%).
Results: The in-hospital mortality rate was 15.8% and 4.2% (p < 0.0001) and the five-year mortality rate was 42.7% and 19% (p < 0.0001) for patients who received and who did not receive a RBC transfusion, respectively. Moreover, multivariate analysis revealed that, after correction for baseline differences, RBC transfusion was an independent predictor of five-year mortality in patients treated with PCI (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.0-2.1; p = 0.04).
Conclusions: Red blood cell transfusion is associated with higher five-year mortality in STEMI patients treated with PCI.