• Abdulrazaq Al-Jazairi, Shahad Raslan, Rayd Al-Mehizia, Hani Al Dalaty, Edward B De Vol, Elias Saad, Mosleh Alanazi, and Tarek Owaidah.
• King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Ann Pharmacother. 2021 May 1; 55 (5): 592-604.

BackgroundThe use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) support devices are associated with complications, including bleeding and thrombosis. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is the gold standard anticoagulant in ECMO patients. Clinically, UFH is monitored through activated clotting time (ACT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and anti-factor Xa assay. It is unknown which assay best predicts anticoagulation effects in adults.ObjectiveTo assess the correlation of UFH dosing and monitoring using an established protocol.MethodsA pilot, prospective cohort, historically controlled study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital. Patients ≥18 years-old who received ECMO on the multifaceted anticoagulation protocol were included and compared with those on the conventional method of anticoagulation. The primary end point was to assess the correlation between UFH dose and different monitoring methods throughout 72 hours using the new protocol guided by ACT and anti-factor Xa assay.ResultsIn each arm, 20 patients were enrolled. The study revealed that anti-factor Xa assay had the largest number of "strong" correlations 11/20 (55%), followed by both aPTT and aPTT ratio 10/20 (50%), and, finally, ACT 2/20 (10%). Concordance between anti-factor Xa assay and the other monitoring parameters in the prospective arm was generally low: 31% with aPTT ratio, 26% with ACT, and 23% with aPTT.Conclusion And RelevanceThe adaption of a multifaceted anticoagulation protocol using anti-factor Xa assay may provide a better prediction of heparin dosing in adults ECMO patients compared with the conventional ACT-based protocol. Further studies are needed to assess the safety and different monitoring modalities.

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