The impact of platelet transfusion on prognosis in adult burn patients with thrombocytopenia: A propensity score matching analysis

Background and objectives: Thrombocytopenia is common among burn patients. Platelet transfusion is frequently administered to increase platelet counts. However, it is not clear whether platelets affect the outcome after transfusion among adult burn patients with thrombocytopenia. Our aim is to explore whether platelet transfusion affects the prognosis of adult burn patients with thrombocytopenia.

Methods: We undertook a retrospective analysis of 368 adult burn victims with thrombocytopenia from the Department of Burn at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, China, from January 2014 to July 2021. Propensity score matching (PSM) was utilized to reduce selection bias and confounding factors. After PSM, the platelet transfusion group and the no-platelet transfusion group each had 46 patients. Our primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality.

Results: Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that third-degree burn area [β = -0.040, odds ratio (OR) = 1.052, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.015-1.091] and platelet transfusion (OR =2.227, 95 % CI = 0.473-10.483) were independent risk factors (P < 0.05). KaplanMeier analysis showed that the 30-day mortality of patients in the platelet transfusion group and no-platelet transfusion group were 47.8 % and 19.6 %, respectively (P < 0.05) CONCLUSION: Platelet transfusion was an independent risk factor for 30-day mortality in adult burn patients with thrombocytopenia.