• Neil R McMullin, Charles E Wade, John B Holcomb, Tina G Nielsen, Rolf Rossaint, Bruno Riou, Sandro B Rizoli, Yoram Kluger, Philip I T Choong, Brian Warren, Bartholomew J Tortella, Kenneth D Boffard, and NovoSeven Trauma Study Group.
• US Army Institute of Surgical Research, BAMC-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, USA.
• J Trauma. 2010 Jul 1;69(1):60-9.

BackgroundIn trauma patients with significant hemorrhage, it is hypothesized that failure to normalize prothrombin time (PT) after recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) treatment predicts poor clinical outcomes and potentially indicates a need for additional therapeutic interventions.MethodsTo assess the value of PT to predict outcomes after rFVIIa or placebo therapy, we performed a post hoc analysis of data from 169 severely injured, critically bleeding trauma patients who had 1-hour postdose PT measurements from two randomized clinical trials. Baseline characteristics and outcome parameters were compared between subjects with 1-hour postdose PT >or=18 seconds and PT <18 seconds.ResultsIn rFVIIa-treated subjects, prolonged postdose PT values >or=18 seconds were associated with significantly higher 24-hour mortality (60% vs. 3%; p < 0.001) and 30-day mortality, increased incidence of massive transfusion, and fewer intensive care unit-free days compared with postdose PT values <18 seconds. Recombinant rFVIIa-treated subjects with postdose PT >or=18 seconds had significantly lower baseline hemoglobin levels, fibrinogen levels, and platelet counts than subjects with postdose PT values <18 seconds even though they received similar amounts of blood products before rFVIIa dosing. Placebo-treated subjects with postdose PT >or=18 seconds had significantly increased incidence of massive transfusion, significantly decreased intensive care unit-free days, and significantly lower levels of fibrinogen and platelets at baseline compared with subjects with postdose PT values <18 seconds.ConclusionsThe presence of prolonged PT after rFVIIa or placebo therapy was associated with poor clinical outcomes. Because subjects with postdosing PT >or=18 seconds had low levels of hemoglobin, fibrinogen, and platelets, this group may benefit from additional blood component therapy.

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