Clinical significance of hemoglobin level and blood transfusion therapy in elderly sepsis patients: A retrospective analysis

The clinical significance of hemoglobin level and blood transfusion therapy in elderly sepsis patients remains controversial. The study investigated the relationship between mortality, hemoglobin levels, and blood transfusion in elderly sepsis patients.Elderly sepsis patients were included in the Marketplace for Medical Information in Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV) database. A multivariate regression model analyzed the relationship between the Hb level and the 28-day mortality risk. Logistic Multivariate analysis, Propensity Matching (PSM) analysis, an Inverse Probabilities Weighting (IPW) model and doubly robust estimation were applied to analyze the 28-day mortality risk between transfused and non-transfused patients in Hb at 7-8 g/dL, 8-9 g/dL, 9-10 g/dL, and 10-11 g/dL groups.7473 elderly sepsis patients were enrolled in the study. The Hb level in the ICU and the 28-day mortality risk of patients with sepsis shared a non-linear relationship. The patients with Hb levels of <10 g/dL(p < 0.05) and > 15 g/dL(p < 0.05) within 24 h had a high mortality risk in multivariate analysis. In the Hb level 7-8 g/dL and 8-9 g/dL subgroup, the Multivariate analysis (p < 0.05), PSM (p < 0.05), IPW (p < 0.05) and doubly robust estimation (p < 0.05) suggested that blood transfusion could reduce the mortality risk. In the subgroup with a Hb level of 10-11 g/dL, IPW (p < 0.05) and doubly robust estimation (p < 0.05) suggested that blood transfusion could increase the mortality risk of elderly sepsis patients.A non-linear relationship between the Hb level and the 28-day mortality risk and Hb levels of <10 g/dL and > 15 g/dL may increase the mortality risk, and blood transfusion with a Hb level of <9 g/dL may minimize mortality risk in elderly sepsis patients.