Separate Effect of Perioperative Recombinant Human Factor VIIa Administration and Packed Red Blood Cell Transfusions on Midterm Survival in Lung Transplantation Recipients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between blood product transfusion, with or without recombinant human activated factor VIIa, and survival after lung transplantation.

Design: Retrospective analysis of a single center with follow-up out to 6 years post-transplantation.

Setting: Single-center academic lung transplantation program.

Participants: The study comprised 265 adult patients who underwent single or bilateral sequential lung transplantation from March 2011 to June 2017.

Interventions: Overall survival using Kaplan-Meier curves was compared among the following 3 cohorts: those not transfused with blood products, those transfused with blood products, and those given blood products and recombinant human activated factor VIIa. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs), confidence intervals (CIs), and p values.

Measurements and main results: Seventy-eight patients received no packed red blood cell transfusions, 149 received packed red blood cell transfusions, and 38 received both packed red blood cell transfusions and recombinant human activated factor VII. Packed red blood cell transfusion was associated with an increased risk of mortality that did not reach statistical significance (HR 2.168, CI 0.978-4.805; p = 0.057). Additional packed red blood cells beyond 15 U were associated with worsened survival (HR 1.363, CI 1.137-1.633; p = 0.001), but recombinant human activated factor VIIa did not increase the risk of mortality.

Conclusion: Blood product transfusion during and after lung transplantation is associated with decreased survival, especially with large-volume transfusions. Survival is not worse with recombinant human activated factor VIIa administration, but additional studies are needed to determine whether recombinant human activated factor VIIa administration reduces the need for blood product transfusions.