Anemia in Critically Ill Patients; Prevalence and Prognostic Implications

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a commonly encountered clinical problem in the critically ill. Ninety-five percent of critically ill patients who stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for 72 hours or greater suffer from anemia and approximately 40% of them receive Packed Red Blood Cell (PRBC) transfusions. In 2001, nearly 14 million units of packed red blood cells were transfused, but the physiologic basis for transfusion in the critically ill is not without controversy. In the last two decades transfusion practices have become more restrictive likely in response to prospective research.