Transfusion strategies in bleeding critically ill adults: a clinical practice guideline from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine

PURPOSE: To develop evidence-based clinical practice recommendations regarding transfusion practices and transfusion in bleeding critically ill adults. METHODS: A taskforce involving 15 international experts and 2 methodologists used the GRADE approach to guideline development. The taskforce addressed three main topics: transfusion support in massively and non-massively bleeding critically ill patients (transfusion ratios, blood products, and point of care testing) and the use of tranexamic acid. The panel developed and answered structured guideline questions using population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) format. RESULTS: The taskforce generated 26 clinical practice recommendations (2 strong recommendations, 13 conditional recommendations, 11 no recommendation), and identified 10 PICOs with insufficient evidence to make a recommendation. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical practice guideline provides evidence-based recommendations for the management of massively and non-massively bleeding critically ill adult patients and identifies areas where further research is needed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00134-021-06531-x.