The following is a summary of “Anti-inflammatory therapies are associated with delayed onset of anemia and reduction in transfusion requirements in critically ill patients: results from two studies,” published in the April 2024 issue of Critical Care by Bolscher et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating whether anti-inflammatory medications lessen the severity of anemia and the need for RBC transfusions in COVID-19 patients, considering the inflammatory nature of severe illness and anemia.
They analyzed an observational cohort (comprising 772 individuals) and a validation cohort (a subset of REMAP-CAP, with 119 patients) of critically ill COVID-19 patients suffering from hypoxemic respiratory failure. The patients were categorized into three groups: those who received no treatment, those treated with steroids, and those treated with steroids in addition to IL-6 blocking agents. Descriptive statistics and multivariate modeling were used to compare the hemoglobin (Hb) decline trajectory and the requirement for RBC transfusions.
The results showed that the treated groups had higher Hb levels in both cohorts than at all time points for the untreated group. In the observational cohort, the combination treatment group had a lower incidence and fewer transfused patients than the untreated groups. A detailed analysis revealed steroids slowed Hb decline in critically ill COVID-19 patients and the combination treatment further reduced decline and transfusion needs. Benefits were confirmed in a separate patient group.
Investigators concluded that immunomodulatory treatments in critically ill COVID-19 patients led to slower Hb decline and reduced transfusion needs, supporting inflammation as a critical factor in anemia development.
Source: ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-024-04898-z