Platelet transfusion and mortality in patients with sepsis-induced thrombocytopenia: a propensity score-matching analysis

Abstract Thrombocytopenia is common among sepsis patients. Platelet transfusion is frequently administered to increase platelet counts but its clinical impacts remain unclear in sepsis-induced thrombocytopenia. The goal of this study was to explore the association between platelet transfusion and mortality in patients with sepsis-induced thrombocytopenia based on the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) III database. In this study, we included 1733 patients with sepsis-induced thrombocytopenia, and these patients were divided into two groups: platelet transfusion group (PT group) and no platelet transfusion group (NPT group). Propensity-score matching was used to reduce the imbalance. We found that patients in the PT group had a higher in-hospital mortality as compared with the NPT group. Furthermore, in the subgroup of age (>60 years), gender (female), sequential organ failure assessment score (≤8), simplified acute physiology score (≤47), platelet count (>27/nL), congestive heart failure, platelet transfusion was associated with increased in-hospital mortality. However, there was no significant difference in the 90-day mortality and the length of ICU stays (LOS-ICU) between these two groups. All these results remain stable after adjustment for confounders and in the comparisons after propensity score matching. In conclusion, platelet transfusion was associated with increased in-hospital mortality in patients with sepsis-induced thrombocytopenia.