Effects of packed red blood cell storage duration on post-transfusion clinical outcomes: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Purpose: There is substantial conjecture regarding the clinical significance of packed red blood cell (PRBC) changes that occur during in vitro storage. Here, we present a meta- and systematic analysis of adult studies published between 1994 and 2015 with the aim of updating existing quantitative reviews and providing a comprehensive cover of the six most commonly studied outcomes-mortality, infection, renal dysfunction, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), thrombotic complications and prolonged hospital length of stay.

Methods: Computerised searches of Pubmed and EMBASE identified publications that reported target outcomes and PRBC storage duration prior to transfusion.