Rationale. The optimal hemoglobin for a critically ill child with severe sepsis is not known. A recent multicenter trial reported no difference in mortality in hemodynamically stable critically ill children managed with a transfusion threshold of 7 g/dL compared with those managed with a transfusion threshold of 9.5 g/dL; however, the severe sepsis subgroup had an increase in nosocomial sepsis and lacked clear evidence of equivalence in outcomes with the restrictive strategy (584, 585). Blood transfusion is recommended by the World Health Organization for severe anemia, hemoglobin value < 5 g/dL, and acidosis. An RCT of early goal-directed therapy for pediatric septic shock using the threshold hemoglobin of 10 g/dL for patients with a Svco2 saturation less than 70% in the first 72 hrs of pediatric ICU admission showed improved survival in the multimodal intervention arm (511).