Early systemic anticoagulation reduces hospital readmission in acute necrotizing pancreatitis patients:A retrospective cohort study

Background:Early systemic anticoagulation(SAC)is a common practice in acute necrotizing pancreatitis(ANP),and its impact on in-hospital clinical outcomes had been assessed.However,whether it affects long-term outcomes is unknown.This study aimed to evaluate the effect of SAC on 90-day readmission and other long-term outcomes in ANP patients.Methods:During January 2013 and December 2018,ANP patients admitted within 7 days from the onset of abdominal pain were screened.The primary outcome was 90-day readmission after discharge.Cox proportional-hazards regression model and mediation analysis were used to define the relationship between early SAC and 90-day readmission.Results:A total of 241 ANP patients were enrolled,of whom 143 received early SAC during their hospitalization and 98 did not.Patients who received early SAC experienced a lower incidence of splanchnic venous thrombosis(SVT)[risk ratio(RR)=0.40,95%CI:0.26-0.60,P<0.01]and lower 90-day readmission with an RR of 0.61(95%CI:0.41-0.91,P=0.02)than those who did not.For the quality of life,patients who received early SAC had a significantly higher score in the subscale of vitality(P=0.03)while the other subscales were all comparable between the two groups.Multivariable Cox regression model showed that early SAC was an independent protective factor for 90-day readmission after adjusting for potential confounders with a hazard ratio of 0.57(95%CI:0.34-0.96,P=0.04).Mediation analysis showed that SVT mediated 37.0%of the early SAC-90-day readmission causality.Conclusions:The application of early SAC may reduce the risk of 90-day readmission in the survivors of ANP patients,and reduced SVT incidence might be the primary contributor.

The diagnostic yield for computed tomography pulmonary angiography in patients with anticoagulation

BACKGROUND:Patients who present to the emergency department(ED)for suspected pulmonary embolism(PE)are often on active oral anticoagulation(AC).However,the diagnostic yield of computed tomography pulmonary angiography(CTPA)in screening for PE in patients who present on AC has not been well characterized.We aim to investigate the diagnostic yield of CTPA in diagnosing PE depending on AC status.METHODS:We reviewed and analyzed the electronic medical records of patients who underwent CTPA for PE at a university hospital ED from June 1,2019,to March 25,2022.Primary outcome was the incidence of PE on CTPA depending on baseline AC status and indication for AC.RESULTS:Of 2,846 patients,242 were on AC for a history of venous thromboembolism(VTE),210 were on AC for other indications,and 2,394 were not on AC.The incidence of PE on CTPA was significantly lower in patients on AC for other indications(5.7%)when compared to patients on AC for prior VTE(24.3%)and patients not on AC at presentation(9.8%)(P<0.001).In multivariable analysis among the whole cohort,AC was associated with a positive CTPA(odds ratio[OR]0.26,95%confidence interval[CI]:0.15-0.45,P<0.001).CONCLUSION:The incidence of PE among patients undergoing CTPA in the ED is lower in patients previously on AC for indications other than VTE when compared to those not on AC or those on AC for history of VTE.AC status and indication for AC may affect pre-test probability of a positive CTPA,and AC status therefore warrants consideration as part of future diagnostic algorithms among patients with suspected PE.

Challenging anticoagulation therapy for multiple primary malignant tumors combined with thrombosis:A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND Venous thromboembolism significantly contributes to patient deterioration and mortality.Management of its etiology and anticoagulation treatment is intricate,necessitating a comprehensive consideration of various factors,including the bleeding risk,dosage,specific anticoagulant medications,and duration of therapy.Herein,a case of lower extremity thrombosis with multiple primary malignant tumors and high risk of bleeding was reviewed to summarize the shortcomings of treatment and prudent anticoagulation experience.CASE SUMMARY An 83-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital due to a 2-wk history of left lower extremity edema that had worsened over 2 d.Considering her medical history and relevant post-admission investigations,it was determined that the development of left lower extremity venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in this case could be attributed to a combination of factors,including multiple primary malignant tumors,iliac venous compression syndrome,previous novel coronavirus infection,and inadequate treatment for prior thrombotic events.However,the selection of appropriate anticoagulant medications,determination of optimal drug dosages,and establishment of an appropriate duration of anticoagulation therapy were important because of concurrent thrombocytopenia,decreased quantitative fibrinogen levels,and renal insufficiency.CONCLUSION Anticoagulant prophylaxis should be promptly initiated in cases of high-risk thrombosis.Individualized anticoagulation therapy is required for complex thrombosis.

Analysis of the Effect of High-Dose Segmental Citrate Anticoagulation in High Flux Hemodialysis

Objective:To analyze the clinical effect of high-dose citrate in segmental extracorporeal anticoagulation for high-throughput hemodialysis.Methods:The subjects included in this study were admitted to the hospital for maintenance hemodialysis treatment from January 2021 to January 2023.All patients had a high risk of bleeding and received 4%trisodium citrate anticoagulant treatment,administered at a rate of 200 mL/h before and after the dialyzer.The anticoagulant effects achieved by the patients were observed and analyzed.Results:The total number of patients who received high-dose segmented citrate extracorporeal anticoagulation dialysis treatment was 50,with each patient undergoing 100 treatments.During the treatment,2 patients had to end the treatment early due to transmembrane pressure exceeding 30 mmHg and an increase in venous pressure exceeding 250 mmHg;the treatment times for these patients were 20 minutes and 200 minutes,respectively.The remaining patients successfully completed the 4-hour treatment.Blood pH and calcium ion concentration in the venous pot were monitored.It was observed that before dialysis,after 2 hours of dialysis,and at the end of dialysis,the blood pH of the patients remained within a relatively normal range.Although some patient levels changed after dialysis,they remained within the normal range.No adverse reactions(such as numbness of the limbs or convulsions)were observed during the anticoagulant treatment.Conclusion:Administering 4%trisodium citrate at a rate of 200 mL/h before and after the dialyzer achieves a good anticoagulant effect,maintains the patient’s blood gas levels within the normal range at the end of dialysis,and causes no adverse reactions.

Anticoagulation and delayed bowel resection in the management of mesenteric venous thrombosis

Acute mesenteric venous thrombosis is potentially lethal because it can result in mesenteric ischemia and,ultimately,bowel infarction requiring surgical intervention.Systemic anticoagulation for the prevention of thrombus propagation is a well-recognized treatment modality and the current mainstay therapy for patients with acute mesenteric venous thrombosis.However,the decision between prompt surgical exploration vs conservative treatment with anticoagulation is somewhat difficult in patients with suspected bowel ischemia.Here we describe a patient with acute mesenteric venous thrombosis who presented with bowel ischemia and was treated with anticoagulation and delayed short-segment bowel resection.

Compliance and adherence to oral anticoagulation therapy in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation in the era of direct oral anticoagulants

Thromboembolic complications represent a substantial problem in patients with atrial fibrillation （AF）. The prevalence of AF burden and associated arterial and venous thrombosis progressively increases with age. At the same time, representative national data regarding stroke incidence in AF patients aged 80 and older are limited.

Atractylenolide Ⅰ protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation by anti-inflammatory and anticoagulation effect

Objective:To investigate whether atractylenolide Ⅰ(ATL-Ⅰ) has protective effect on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation(DIC) in vivo and in vitro,and explore whether NF-κB signaling pathway is involved in ATL-Ⅰ treatment.Methods:New Zealand white rabbits were injected with LPS through marginal ear vein over a period of 6h at a rate of 600 μg/kg(10 mL/h).Similarly,in the treatment groups,1.0,2.0,or 5.0 mg/kg ATL-Ⅰ were given.Both survival rate and organ function were tested,including the level of alanine aminotransferase(ALT),blood urine nitrogen(BUN),and TNF-α were examined by ELISA.Also haemostatic and fibrinolytic parameters in serum were measured.RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were administered with control,LPS,LPS + ATL-Ⅰ and ATL-Ⅰ alone,and TNF-α,phosphorylation(P)-IκBα,phosphorylation(P)-NF-κB(P65) and NF-κB(P65) were determined by Western blot.Results:The administration of LPS resulted in 73.3%mortality rate,and the increase of serum TNF-α,BUN and ALT levels.When ATL-Ⅰ treatment significantly increased the survival rate of LPS-induced DIC model,also improved the function of blood coagulation.And protein analysis indicated that ATL-Ⅰ remarkably protected liver and renal as decreasing TNF-α expression.In vitro,ATL-Ⅰ obviously decreased LPS-induced TNF-αproduction and the expression of P-NF-κB(P65),with the decrease of P-IκBα.Conclusions:ATL-Ⅰ has protective effect on LPS-induced DIC,which can elevate the survival rate,reduce organ damage,improve the function of blood coagulation and suppress TNF-α expression by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway.

Antithrombotic management of patients on oral anticoagulation undergoing coronary artery stenting

Patients on oral anticoagulation(OAC),who are referred for coronary artery stenting account for about 5% of the whole population undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Although relatively small,this patient subset poses particular problems owing to the need to balance carefully the risk of bleeding against the risk of stent thrombosis and thromboembolism.Triple therapy(TT) of OAC,aspirin and clopidogrel appears as the most effective for prevention of stent thrombosis and thromboembolism.However,an increased incidence of major bleeding is to be expected during follow-up.Therefore,TT should be prolonged for as short a time as possible,and implantation of drug-eluting stents avoided.Frequent monitoring of international normalized ratio is also warranted,and the intensity of OAC should be targeted at the lower limit of the therapeutic range.Gastric protection should also be considered for all patients on medium-to long-term TT,owing to the observed highest incidence of bleeding at the gastrointestinal site.Peri-procedural management is cumbersome,and a substantial incidence of inhospital major bleeding has been reported.Since this latter is more related to procedural variables than to TT itself,choice of radial access,avoidance of glycoprotein Ⅱb/Ⅲa inhibitors,and preference for not interrupting effective OAC should be implemented.However,the evidence on which the recommendations for managing this patient subset are based is limited and of relative poor quality.While waiting for the results of ongoing,large prospective studies that are aimed at conclusively determining optimal medium-to long-term antithrombotic treatment,the official recommendations issued by the Working Group on Thrombosis of the European Society of Cardiology on the management of patients on OAC undergoing PCI with stenting should followed.

Anticoagulation with direct thrombin inhibitors during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to support patients with critical cardiorespiratory illness is increasing.Systemic anticoagulation is an essential element in the care of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients.While unfractionated heparin is the most commonly used agent,unfractionated heparin is associated with several unique complications that can be catastrophic in critically ill patients,including heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and acquired antithrombin deficiency.These complications can result in thrombotic events and subtherapeutic anticoagulation.Direct thrombin inhibitors(DTIs)are emerging as alternative anticoagulants in patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.Increasing evidence supports DTIs use as safe and effective in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients with and without heparininduced thrombocytopenia.This review outlines the pharmacology,dosing strategies and available protocols,monitoring parameters,and special use considerations for all available DTIs in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients.The advantages and disadvantages of DTIs in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation relative to unfractionated heparin will be described.

Incidence, clinical impact and risk of bleeding during oral anticoagulation therapy

Bleeding is the most important complication of oral anticoagulation (OAC) with vitamin K-antagonists. Whilst bleeding is unavoidably related to OAC, it may have a great impact on the prognosis of treated subjects by leading to discontinuation of treatment, permanent disability or death. The yearly incidence of bleeding during OAC is 2%-5% for major bleeding, 0.5%-1% for fatal bleeding, and 0.2%-0.4% for intracranial bleeding. While OAC interruption and/or antagonism, as well as administration of coagulation factors, represent the necessary measures for the management of bleeding, proper stratification of the individual risk of bleeding prior to start OAC is of paramount importance. Several factors, including advanced age, female gender, poor control and higher intensity of OAC, associated diseases and medications, as well as genetic factors, have been proven to be associated with an increased risk of bleeding. Most of these factors have been included in the development of bleeding prediction scores, which should now be used by clinicians when prescribing and monitoring OAC. Owing to the many limitations of OAC, including a narrow therapeutic window, cumber-some management, and wide interand intra-individual variability, novel oral anticoagulants, such as factor Xa inhibitors and direct thrombin inhibitors, have been recently developed. These agents can be given in f ixed doses, have little interaction with foods and drugs, and do not require regular monitoring of anticoagulation. While the novel oral anticoagulants show promise for effective thromboprophylaxis in atrial f ibrillation and venous thromboembolism, def initive data on their safety and eff icacy are awaited.

Anticoagulation and antiplatelets as prophylaxis for hepatic artery thrombosis after liver transplantation

Hepatic artery thrombosis(HAT) is the most serious vascular complication after liver transplantation. Multiple risk factors have been identified to impact its development. Changes in haemostasis associated with end stage liver disease and the disturbance of the coagulation and anticoagulation cascades play an important role in development of this lethal complication. Early recognition and therapeutic intervention is mandatory to avoid its consequences. Pharmacological prophylaxis, by the use of antiplatelet or anticoagulant agents, is an important tool to reduce its incidence and prevent graft loss. Only a few studies have shown a clear benefit of antiplatelet agents in reducing HAT occurrence, however, these studies are limited by being retrospective and by inhomogeneous populations. The use of anticoagulants such as heparin is associated with an improvement in the outcomes mainly when used for a high-risk patients like living related liver recipients. The major concern when using these agents is the tendency to increase bleeding complications in a setting of already unstable haemostasis. Hence, monitoring of their administration and careful selection of patients to be treated are of great importance. Well-designed clinical studies are still needed to further explore their effects and to formulate proper protocols that can be implemented safely.

Anticoagulation therapy prevents portal-splenic vein thrombosis after splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization

AIM:To compare the incidence of early portal or splenic vein thrombosis(PSVT) in patients treated with irregular and regular anticoagulantion after splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization.METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed 301 patients who underwent splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization for portal hypertension due to cirrhosis between April 2004 and July 2010.Patients were categorized into group A with irregular anticoagulation and group B with regular anticoagulation,respectively.Group A(153 patients) received anticoagulant monotherapy for an undesignated time period or with aspirin or warfarin without low-molecular-weight heparin(LMWH) irregularly.Group B(148 patients) received subcutaneous injection of LMWH routinely within the first 5 d after surgery,followed by oral warfarin and aspirin for one month regularly.The target prothrombin time/international normalized ratio(PT/INR) was 1.25-1.50.Platelet and PT/INR were monitored.Color Doppler imaging was performed to monitor PSVT as well as the effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy.RESULTS:The patients' data were collected and analyzed retrospectively.Among the patients,94 developed early postoperative mural PSVT,including 63 patients in group A(63/153,41.17%) and 31 patients in group B(31/148,20.94%).There were 50(32.67%) patients in group A and 27(18.24%) in group B with mural PSVT in the main trunk of portal vein.After the administration of thrombolytic,anticoagulant and antiaggregation therapy,complete or partial thrombus dissolution achieved in 50(79.37%) in group A and 26(83.87%) in group B.CONCLUSION:Regular anticoagulation therapy can reduce the incidence of PSVT in patients who undergo splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization,and regular anticoagulant therapy is safer and more effective than irregular anticoagulant therapy.Early and timely thrombolytic therapy is imperative and feasible for the prevention of PSVT.

Management of regional citrate anticoagulation for continuous renal replacement therapy:guideline recommendations from Chinese emergency medical doctor consensus

Continuous renal replacement therapy(CRRT)is widely used for treating critically-ill patients in the emergency department in China.Anticoagulant therapy is needed to prevent clotting in the extracorporeal circulation during CRRT.Regional citrate anticoagulation(RCA)has been shown to potentially be safer and more effective,and is now recommended as the preferred anticoagulant method for CRRT.However,there is still a lack of unified standards for RCA management in the world,and there are many problems in using this method in clinical practice.The Emergency Medical Doctor Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association(CMDA)organized a panel of domestic emergency medicine experts and international experts of CRRT to discuss RCA-related issues,including the advantages and disadvantages of RCA in CRRT anticoagulation,the principle of RCA,parameter settings for RCA,monitoring of RCA(mainly metabolic acid-base disorders),and special issues during RCA.Based on the latest available research evidence as well as the paneled experts'clinical experience,considering the generalizability,suitability,and potential resource utilization,while also balancing clinical advantages and disadvantages,a total of 16 guideline recommendations were formed from the experts'consensus.

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients on long-term oral anticoagulation therapy: Endoscopic findings, clinical management and outcome

AIM: Acute gastrointestinal bleeding is a severe complication in patients receiving long-term oral anticoagulant therapy. The purpose of this study was to describe the causes and clinical outcome of these patients. METHODS: From January 1999 to October 2003, 111 patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB) were hospitalized while on oral anticoagulants. The causes and clinical outcome of these patients were compared with those of 604 patients hospitalized during 2000-2001 with AUGIB who were not taking warfarin. RESULTS: The most common cause of bleeding was peptic ulcer in 51 patients (45%) receiving anticoagulants compared to 359/604 (59.4%) patients not receiving warfarin (P<0.05). No identifiable source of bleeding could be found in 33 patients (29.7%) compared to 31/604 (5.1%) patients not receiving anticoagulants (P=0.0001). The majority of patients with concurrent use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (26/35, 74.3%) had a peptic ulcer as a cause of bleeding while 32/76 (40.8%) patients not taking a great dose of NSAIDs had a negative upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy. Endoscopic hemostasis was applied and no complication was reported. Six patients (5.4%) were operated due to continuing or recurrent hemorrhage, compared to 23/604 (3.8%) patients not receiving anticoagulants. Four patients died, the overall mortality was 3.6% in patients with AUGIB due to anticoagulants, which was not different from that in patients not receiving anticoagulant therapy. CONCLUSION: Patients with AUGIB while on long-term anticoagulant therapy had a clinical outcome, which is not different from that of patients not taking anticoagulants. Early endoscopy is important for the management of these patients and endoscopic hemostasis can be safely applied.

Cognitive function and adherence to anticoagulation treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation

Background Medication adherence is an integral part of the comprehensive care of patients with atrial fibrillation （AF） receiving oral anticoagulations （OACs） therapy. Many patients with AF are elderly and may suffer from some form of cognitive impairment. This study was conducted to investigate whether cognitive impairment affects the level of adherence to anticoagulation treatment in AF patients. Me- thods The study involved 111 AF patients （mean age, 73.5±8.3 years） treated with OACs. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination （MMSE）. The level of adherence was assessed by the 8-item Mot^sky Medication Adherence Scale （MMAS-8）. Scores on the MMAS-8 range from 0 to 8, with scores 〈 6 reflecting low adherence, 6 to 〈 8 medium adherence, and 8 high adherence. Re- sults 46.9% of AF patients had low adherence, 18.8% had moderate adherence, and 33.3% had high adherence to OACs. Patients with lower adherence were older than those with moderate or high adherence （76.6 ±8.7 vs. 71.3 ~ 6.4 vs. 71.1 ± 6.7 years） and obtained low MMSE scores, indicating cognitive disorders or dementia （MMSE = 22.3 ± 4.2）. Patients with moderate or high adherence obtained high MMSE test results （27.5 ±1.7 and 27,5 ± 3.6）. According to Spearman＇s rank correlation, worse adherence to treatment with OACs was determined by older age （rs = -0.372） and lower MMSE scores （rs = 0.717）. According to multivariate regression analysis, the level of cognitive function was a significant independent predictor of adherence （b = 1.139）. Conclusions Cognitive impairment is an independent determinant of compliance with pharmacological therapy in elderly patients with AF. Lower adherence, beyond the assessment of cognitive function, is related to the age of patients.

In elderly population prophylactic anticoagulation favors early detection of digestive track cancers: an observational study in eastern Poland

The launch of non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOACs) caused revolution in thrombosis prevention, which was mainly due to their safety and simplicity in treatment when compared to vitamin K antagonists (VKA). Clinical observations indicate that despite the benefits of NOACs, many patients still use VKA even if they cannot cope with dose modifications and often do not control INR.

The Effect of Lanthanide and Transition Metal Ions on the Fluorescence Spectra for the Anticoagulation Factor of Snake Venom

The effect of lanthanide and transition metal ions on the fluorescence spectra of the anticoagulation factor(ACF)of snake venom has been studied.It is postulated that the quenching of tryptophan residue fluorescence by lanthanide and transition metal ions is caused by the metal ion-induced conformation change of ACF.

Aortic valve stenosis provides complementary information to bleeding risk scores in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients initiating anticoagulation

Background The identification of modifiable bleeding risk factors may be of relevance.The aim is to evaluate if aortic stenosis(AS)provides additional information to bleeding risk scores for predicting major bleeding(MB)in non-valvular atrial fibrillation(AF).Methods We designed a retrospective multi-center study including 2880 consecutive non-valvular AF patients initiating oral anticoagulation between January 2013 and December 2016.AS was defined as moderate or severe according to European echocardiography guidelines criteria.HASBLED,ATRIA and ORBIT scores were used to evaluate the bleeding risk.MB was defined according to the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasia criteria and registered at 18 months of follow-up.Results 168(5.8%)patients had AS.Patients with AS had higher risk for MB compared to those without AS(HR=2.13,95%CI:1.40-3.23,P<0.001).Patients without AS and low-intermediate bleeding risk(0 points)showed the lowest MB rate,whereas the MB rate observed among patients with AS and high bleeding risk(2 points)was the highest one.Discrimination and reclassification analyses showed that AS provided additional information to bleeding risk scores for predicting MB at 18 months of follow-up.Conclusions In this population,AS was associated with an increased risk for MB at midterm follow-up.The three scoring systems showed a moderate discriminatory ability for MB.Moreover,the addition of AS was associated with a significant improvement in their predictive accuracy.We suggest that the presence of this valvulopathy should be taken into account for bleeding risk assessment.

Anticoagulation in simultaneous pancreas kidney transplantation - On what basis?

BACKGROUND Despite technical refinements,early pancreas graft loss due to thrombosis continues to occur.Conventional coagulation tests(CCT)do not detect hypercoagulability and hence the hypercoagulable state due to diabetes is left untreated.Thromboelastogram(TEG)is an in-vitro diagnostic test which is used in liver transplantation,and in various intensive care settings to guide anticoagulation.TEG is better than CCT because it is dynamic and provides a global hemostatic profile including fibrinolysis.AIM To compare the outcomes between TEG and CCT(prothrombin time,activated partial thromboplastin time and international normalized ratio)directed anticoagulation in simultaneous pancreas and kidney(SPK)transplant recipients.METHODS A single center retrospective analysis comparing the outcomes between TEG and CCT-directed anticoagulation in SPK recipients,who were matched for donor age and graft type(donors after brainstem death and donors after circulatory death).Anticoagulation consisted of intravenous(IV)heparin titrated up to a maximum of 500 IU/h based on CCT in conjunction with various clinical parameters or directed by TEG results.Graft loss due to thrombosis,anticoagulation related bleeding,radiological incidence of partial thrombi in the pancreas graft,thrombus resolution rate after anticoagulation dose escalation,length of the hospital stays and,1-year pancreas and kidney graft survival between the two groups were compared.RESULTS Seventeen patients who received TEG-directed anticoagulation were compared against 51 contemporaneous SPK recipients(ratio of 1:3)who were anticoagulated based on CCT.No graft losses occurred in the TEG group,whereas 11 grafts(7 pancreases and 4 kidneys)were lost due to thrombosis in the CCT group(P=0.06,Fisher’s exact test).The overall incidence of anticoagulation related bleeding(hematoma/gastrointestinal bleeding/hematuria/nose bleeding/re-exploration for bleeding/post-operative blood transfusion)was 17.65%in the TEG group and 45.10%in the CCT group(P=0.05,Fisher’s exact test).The incidence of radiologically confirmed partial thrombus in pancreas allograft was 41.18%in the TEG and 25.50%in the CCT group(P=0.23,Fisher’s exact test).All recipients with partial thrombi detected in computed tomography(CT)scan had an anticoagulation dose escalation.The thrombus resolution rates in subsequent scan were 85.71%and 63.64%in the TEG group vs the CCT group(P=0.59,Fisher’s exact test).The TEG group had reduced blood product usage{10 packed red blood cell(PRBC)and 2 fresh frozen plasma(FFP)}compared to the CCT group(71 PRBC/10 FFP/2 cryoprecipitate and 2 platelets).The proportion of patients requiring transfusion in the TEG group was 17.65%vs 39.25%in the CCT group(P=0.14,Fisher’s exact test).The median length of hospital stay was 18 days in the TEG group vs 31 days in the CCT group(P=0.03,Mann Whitney test).The 1-year pancreas graft survival was 100%in the TEG group vs 82.35%in the CCT group(P=0.07,log rank test)and,the 1-year kidney graft survival was 100%in the TEG group vs 92.15%in the CCT group(P=0.23,log tank test).CONCLUSION TEG is a promising tool in guiding judicious use of anticoagulation with concomitant prevention of graft loss due to thrombosis,and reduces the length of hospital stay.

Anticoagulation early after mechanical heart valve replacement

Objective： To explore the changes of coagulation activity and the characters of anticoagulation early after mechanical heart valve replacement. Methods： All patients only took warfarin orally for anticoagulation. The predicted international normalized ratio （INR） was 1.5 to 2.0. Several coagulation markers were monitored early after valve replacement. Complications associated with anticoagulation were recorded and analyzed. The patients were divided into three groups based on the number and position of mechanical valve prothesis, including group M （mitral valve replacement）, group A （aortic valve replacement） and group D （mitral and aortic valve replacement）.Comparison was made between the three groups. Results： Three events of mild cerebral embolism and five events of mild bleeding occurred during the early postoperative period. One patient suffered from mild cerebral embolism on the 4th day after operation, accompanied by large volume of pericardial drainage. Two patients with bleeding had lower INRs than predicted range. However, INR in one patient with mild cerebral embolism was in the predicted range. There was no significant difference in thrombo time （TT）, activated partial thromboplastin time （APTT） and 1NR on the 3rd day after operation compared to those before operation; meanwhile, plasma fibrinogen （FIB） concentration was higher than that before operation （P〈0.05）. 1NR had no significant changes on the 2nd day after the beginning of anticoagulation compared to that before operation; however, 1NR was significantly elevated on the 4th day （P〈0.05）. Warfarin doses and INRs were similar among the three groups, but FIB concentrations in plasma were higher in groups M and D than in group A （P〈0.01）. Conclusion： Hypercoagulabale state exists early after mechanical heart valve replacement. When anticoagulation begins is determined by the change of coagulation markers, not by the volume of chest or pericardial drainage. INR can not accurately reflect the coagulation state sometimes, especially during the first 3 days after anticoagulation. The number and position of mechanical valve prothesis could affect coagulation state. Therefore, anticoagulation therapy should be regulated accordingly.