Eight studies (n=3,961) met the inclusion criteria.
Based on 3 RCTs, non-buffy-coat-reduced allogeneic RBCs or whole blood was associated with a 77% increase in the odds of post-operative infection compared with WBC-reduced allogeneic RBCs (OR 1.77, 95% CI: 1.02, 3.09).
Based on 5 RCTs, buffy-coat-reduced allogeneic RBC transfusion did not increase the odds of post-operative infection compared with pre-storage filtered RBCs (OR 1.19, 95% CI: 0.87, 1.63).
Based on 4 RCTs,, WBC-containing allogeneic blood transfusion led to a greater than 2-fold increase in the odds of infection compared with post-storage filtered allogeneic whole blood or RBCs(OR 2.25, 95% CI: 1.20, 4.25).
In 3 RCTs of patients undergoing heart surgery, buffy-coat-reduced allogeneic RBC transfusion did not increase the odds of post-operative infection compared with allogeneic RBCs filtered before storage (OR 1.30, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.89). In 2 RCTs of patients undergoing abdominal surgery, buffy-coat-reduced allogeneic RBC transfusion did not increase the odds of post-operative infection compared with allogeneic RBCs filtered before storage (OR 1.10, 95% CI: 0.60, 2.03).