Nationwide trends in prehospital blood product use after injury 2020–2023

Abstract

Introduction Prehospital blood transfusion improves survival after injury. Understanding potential demand for and usage of prehospital blood transfusion is important to help improve supply and utilization of this prehospital intervention. The primary objective of this study is to describe potential current demand for prehospital blood product in adults after blunt and penetrating injury from 2020 to 2023. We also estimate the extent to which this potential demand is being met. Methods Patients ≥16 years with blunt/penetrating injuries included in the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) from 2020 to 2023 were identified. Patients were classified into Cohort 1 (systolic blood pressure (SBP) 108 or SBP <70) and Cohort 2 (shock index ≥1), and total numbers in each cohort were reported. Additionally, the number and percentage of patients who were potentially eligible for and who received prehospital blood transfusion were calculated and trended over time. Results After exclusions, 20.4 million trauma patients were included. A total of 262,761 Cohort 1 patients and 1,227,556 Cohort 2 patients were potentially eligible for transfusion. Estimated demand for blood transfusion increased from 2020 to 2023 (p < 0.001) in both cohorts. Cohort 1 had the highest estimated proportion of patients (0.9%, n = 2,289) who received transfusion, demonstrating that few potentially eligible adult trauma patients received blood product. Conclusions Altogether, 1.2 million hemodynamically unstable trauma patients were potentially eligible for prehospital blood transfusion after injury during 2020–2023, yet less than 1% received this intervention. These data underscore the need to evaluate and resolve barriers to wider use of prehospital blood transfusions.