Liver disease affects an estimated 6 million Australians and costs Australia upwards of $5.4 billion annually, with a death toll of 11.8 per 100,000. 

Bleeding related to portal hypertension and coagulopathy is a common complication in cirrhotic patients. Administration of blood products to restore volume and correct coagulopathy in the bleeding Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) patient is not unified in guidelines. Due to scarcity of the data related to the hemostatic profile and blood component usage, as well as the absence of evidence-based guidelines, blood transfusion continues to be a challenging task.

The Life Retrieval Project has three stages and aims to perform a statewide review of blood product administration, to elucidate how blood resources are being used in the management of patients with liver disease and to analyse institutional and geographical variations in blood product administration, across rural, regional and metropolitan areas of Queensland. 

Project was split in three phases. In Phase I, characteristics of CLD patients and their impact on 30-day mortality following discharge were also examined. In Phase II patients with coagulopathy were examined to identify factors associated with 30-day mortality and the appropriateness of blood transfusions. In Phase III assays for Plasma Functional Fibrinogen were assessed comparing different new methods against the gold standard (Fib C,. MORE TO ADD TBA, have contacted Alan for an edit]