Cold-stored Platelet Early Intervention in TBI

Platelet transfusion is commonly provided to patients with moderate or severe TBI who are on antiplatelet medications. Evidence suggests that patients on antiplatelet medications may have worse outcomes following TBI. Current literature has not demonstrated major outcome improvements in those patients who receive platelet transfusion. This lack of significant benefit may be due to insufficient dosing or due to the poor hemostatic function of standard care room temperature platelets. Studying the potential benefits of Cold Stored Platelet transfusion in the TBI population will provide needed direct comparison of room temperature and cold stored platelet transfusion which is unable to occur in patients with hemorrhagic shock, who may require large volumes of red blood cells and plasma concomitantly with platelet transfusion. By providing Cold Stored Platelets in an urgent release fashion following injury, a potentially superior hemostatic agent is given early, closer to the time of injury. The current pilot trial was designed to determine the feasibility, efficacy and safety of urgent release cold stored platelets as compared to standard care in TBI patients requiring platelet transfusion. There are no high-level data which appropriately characterize the urgent release use of cold stored platelets out to 14 days or their function over that time period as compared to standard room temperature platelets. These results will be able to inform future large randomized clinical trials allowing the most appropriate injured population, inclusion criteria, and primary outcome to be selected and utilized.