Microvascular response to red blood cell transfusion in trauma patients.

Background Trauma patients are often transfused allogeneic red blood cells (RBCs) in an effort to augment tissue oxygen delivery. However, the effect of RBC transfusion on microvascular perfusion in this patient population is not well understood. To this end, we investigated the effect of RBC transfusion on sublingual microvascular perfusion in trauma patients.