Seminars in thrombosis and hemostasis
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Fibrinogen has a central role in coagulation. Following trauma and perioperatively, low fibrinogen levels have been found to be risk factors for exaggerated bleeding, transfusion needs, and adverse outcome. Conversely, treatment with exogenous fibrinogen in critically bleeding patients with low fibrinogen levels has been shown to decrease transfusion needs. ⋯ The introduction of these concepts is highly demanding and requires a tremendous educational effort to familiarize all health care workers with the necessary knowledge and the skills of how to run TEG/ROTEM tests. Future research is needed to compare the efficacy, safety, and costs of different algorithms. This, however, should not prevent us from introducing these expedient point-of-care-based algorithms clinically today.
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Semin. Thromb. Hemost. · Mar 2016
ReviewPathophysiology of Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy and Management of Critical Bleeding Requiring Massive Transfusion.
Trauma-induced coagulopathy is caused by multiple factors, such as anemia, hemodilution, hypothermia, acidosis, shock, and serious trauma itself, which affects patient outcomes due to critical bleeding requiring massive transfusion. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) with the fibrinolytic phenotype directly caused by trauma and/or traumatic shock has been considered to be the primary pathophysiology of trauma-induced coagulopathy. ⋯ At present, however, evidence-based practices for damage control resuscitation are lacking. A robust prospective outcome study for damage control resuscitation that considers DIC with the fibrinolytic phenotype as the main pathological condition of trauma-induced coagulopathy affecting patient outcome is essential for improving therapeutic strategies.
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Semin. Thromb. Hemost. · Mar 2016
ReviewUse of Plasma for Acquired Coagulation Factor Deficiencies in Critical Care.
Coagulopathy in critically ill patients is common and often multifactorial. Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is commonly used to correct this either prophylactically or therapeutically. FFP usage is mainly guided by laboratory tests of coagulation, which have been shown to have poor predictive values for bleeding. ⋯ The past few years have seen a gradual reduction in national use of FFP potentially due to an increased awareness of risks such as transfusion-related acute lung injury, patient blood management strategies to reduce transfusion in general, and increased awareness of the lack of high-quality evidence available to support FFP use. Within critical care, FFP is administered before invasive procedures/surgery, to treat major traumatic and nontraumatic hemorrhage, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and for urgent warfarin reversal if first-line agents, such as prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) are not available. Alternative agents such as fibrinogen concentrate and PCC need further evaluation through large-scale clinical trials.
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Semin. Thromb. Hemost. · Oct 2015
Review Meta AnalysisGender Difference in Efficacy and Safety of Nonvitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation or Venous Thromboembolism: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis of the Literature.
Limited information exists on gender-related differences in the safety and efficacy of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs). ⋯ No gender-related difference in the efficacy and safety of NOACs in patients with AF or acute VTE was found. A trend toward an increased risk of bleeding in male patients as compared with female patients was detected in the extended treatment of VTE.
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Coagulopathy is common in acute sepsis and may range from subclinical activation of blood coagulation (hypercoagulability), which may contribute to venous thromboembolism, to acute disseminated intravascular coagulation, characterized by widespread microvascular thrombosis and consumption of platelets and coagulation proteins, eventually causing bleeding. The key event underlying this life-threatening complication is the overwhelming inflammatory host response to the pathogen leading to the overexpression of inflammatory mediators. ⋯ The ensuing microvascular thrombosis-ischemia significantly contributes to tissue injury and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. These insights into the pathogenesis of sepsis-associated coagulopathy may have implications for the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic tools.