EVALUATION OF BLOOD TRANSFUSION NEED IN HOSPITALIZED COVID-19 PATIENTS

Abstract 
Bacground: Blood product management and need during the Covid 19 pandemic is a controversial issue. The effect of reduced blood donation due to the pandemic on blood product management has not yet been determined. 
Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the rate of blood transfusion in COVID-19 patients. 
Material and Method: The 9-month period between 01.07.2019-31.03.2020 before the pandemic and the 9-month period between 01.04.2020-31.12.2021 during the pandemic period were determined as the time period for scanning the data. The numbers of whole blood, erythrocyte concentrate (EC) , fresh frozen plasma (FFP), pooled platelet concentrate, apheresis platelet concentrate , apheresis granulocyte concentrate, and cryoprecipitate concentrate produced in our hospital provided for COVID-19 services and intensive care units (ICU) or obtained from Kızılay were analyzed. 
Results: 56,936 patients, including the patients hospitalized in the ICU, were treated in our hospital in the 9-month period before the pandemic and 34,931 patients were hospitalized in the fisrst 9-month period during the pandemic. The number of blood products used in the operating room decreased by 62% and the number of blood products used throughout the hospital decreased by 22%. The number of blood donors decreased from 5414 in the pre-pandemic period to 3879 during the pandemic period. The transfusion rate per patient increased from 0.40 (the pre-pandemic period) to 0.47 (the pandemic period). The rate of transfusion per patient was 1.5 in the pre-pandemic period in ICUs while it was 1.6 during the pandemic period. 
Conclusion: Although the number of transfusions per patient increased during the pandemic in our center, it was shown that the number of inpatients and transfusions decreased with the decrease in elective surgeries.