Bleeding Events Before vs After Lowering Departmental Platelet Transfusion Trigger

Central venous catheters are essential when administering treatment for hematological conditions. Many patients have a decreased platelet count which increases the risk for bleeding complications. Baarle et al. recently published a randomized controlled study where withholding prophylactic platelet transfusions before CVC placement in patients with a platelet count of 10,000 to 50,000 per cubic millimeter did not meet the predefined margin for non-inferiority for postprocedural bleeding events (PMID: 37224197). However, bleedings grade 2 (defined as bleeding that requires external compression) were included despite lacking clinical significance. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether lowering the preprocedural platelet transfusion trigger from 50x10\^9/L to 10x10\^9/L for insertions of central venous catheters remains safe with regards to postprocedural bleeding events of grade 3-4.