The Effect of Sex-Mismatched Red Blood Cell Transfusion on Endothelial Cell Activation in Critically Ill Patients

Abdulrahman Alshalani, Lisa van Manen, Margit Boshuizen, Robin van Bruggen, Jason P. Acker, Nicole P. Juffermans

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Observational studies suggest that sex-mismatched transfusion is associated with increased mortality. Mechanisms driving mortality are not known but may include endothelial activation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of sex-mismatched red blood cell (RBC) transfusions on endothelial cell activation markers in critically ill patients. Study Design and Methods: In patients admitted to the intensive care unit who received a single RBC unit, blood samples were drawn before (T0), 1 h after (T1), and 24 h after transfusion (T24) for analysis of soluble syndecan-1, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble thrombomodulin (sTM), von Willebrand factor antigen, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα). Changes in the levels of these factors were compared between sex-matched and sex-mismatched groups. Results: Of 69 included patients, 32 patients were in the sex-matched and 37 patients were in the sex-mismatched group. Compared to baseline, sex-matched transfusion was associated with significant reduction in sTM level (p value = 0.03). Between-group comparison showed that levels of syndecan-1 and sTM were significantly higher in the sex-mismatched group compared to the sex-matched group at T24 (p value = 0.04 and 0.01, respectively). Also, TNFα and IL-6 levels showed a statistically marginal significant increase compared to baseline in the sex-mismatched group at T24 (p value = 0.06 and 0.05, respectively), but not in the sex-matched group. Discussion: Transfusion of a single sex-mismatched RBC unit was associated with higher syndecan-1 and sTM levels compared to transfusion of sex-matched RBC unit. These findings may suggest that sex-mismatched RBC transfusion is associated with endothelial activation.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)98-105
JournalTransfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy
Volume49
Issue number2
Early online date2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Blood donor
  • Critically ill patients
  • Endothelial activation
  • Red blood cell
  • Sex-mismatched transfusion
  • Transfusion outcomes

Cite this