Transfusion and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Clinical Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes

Transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a life-threatening complication of blood product transfusion. It is the leading cause of blood product transfusion related death in the USA. The syndrome is defined by hypoxemic respiratory failure with bilateral infiltrates on chest X-ray in the setting of a blood transfusion and absence of cardiac failure. The exact incidence of TRALI is unknown, but the incidence is higher in the critically ill patient population. Multiple patient and donor related risk factors for TRALI exist, including critically illness, alcohol use, and receiving transfusions with high plasma volumes. Practitioners should have a low index of suspicion for the diagnosis of TRALI, and blood bank reporting is vital to aid in diagnosis and future prevention. Management is primarily supportive care, with supplemental oxygen as the mainstay for therapy. Despite the transient course of TRALI, its morbidity is severe with the majority of patients requiring mechanical ventilation and treatment in the intensive care unit. For patients that survive TRALI, outcomes are promising without residual pulmonary deficits. Prevention strategies over the past 10 years have helped to decrease the incidence of TRALI and have led to increased awareness of this condition in the medical field.