Relationships between Blood Transfusion, Severity of Injury and Outcome of Severely Injured Patients Admitted to a Trauma Intensive Care Unit in Nigeria: An Observational Study

Background: Anaemia is common in critically ill trauma patients admitted into the Intensive Care Unit. The aetiology of the anaemia in trauma patients is often multi-factorial, usually resulting from the trauma event, from subsequent interventions and from complications that may arise such as severe sepsis and multiple organ failure. Treatment of anaemia in severely injured patients admitted into the Intensive Care Unit often necessitates blood transfusion. Presently, there is a dearth of quality studies on blood transfusion and outcome among trauma patients especially in Nigeria. This article is aimed at evaluating the association between red blood cell transfusion and severity of injury in adult patients admitted to a trauma ICU.