Can Early Aggressive Administration of Fresh Frozen Plasma Improve Outcomes in Patients with Severe Blunt Trauma?--A Report by the Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma

Background: This study investigated the effect of a high ratio of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to red blood cells (RBCs) within the first 6 and 24 h after admission on mortality in patients with severe, blunt trauma. Methods: This retrospective observational study included 189 blunt trauma patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥16 requiring RBC transfusions within the first 24 h. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to calculate cut-off values of the FFP/RBC ratio for outcome. The patients were then divided into two groups according to the cut-off value. Patient survival was compared between groups using propensity score matching (PSM). Results: The area under the ROC curve was 0.57, and the FFP/RBC ratio was 1.0 at maximum sensitivity (0.57) and specificity (0.67). All patients were then divided into two groups (FFP/RBC ratio ≥1 or