Oxygen Extraction-guided Transfusion

In critically ill patients, optimized strategies for red blood cells transfusion (RBCT) are still controversial. Most recent guidelines suggest that clinical practice in ICU setting should follow a restrictive approach to RBCT (i.e., hemoglonim level \< 7.0 g/dL).In our previous study, oxygen extraction ratio (O2ER) has shown good performance as a marker to identify the correct timing for RBCT, potentially affecting 90-day mortality in non-bleeding, critically ill patients \[11\]. Moreover, our data suggested that an individualized strategy for RBCT may reduce the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), which is possibly related to a better delivery of oxygen and organ perfusion.