Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 2014
Rapid and correct prediction of thrombocytopenia and hypofibrinogenemia with rotational thromboelastometry in cardiac surgery.
In the present study, the authors have investigated whether rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) could predict thrombocytopenia and hypofibrinogenemia in cardiac surgery using the clot amplitude after 5 minutes (A5). Another parameter, PLTEM, in which the contribution of fibrinogen is eliminated by subtracting a fibrin-specific ROTEM test (FIBTEM) from an extrinsically-activated ROTEM test (EXTEM), was investigated. Furthermore, the turnaround time of ROTEM was compared to conventional laboratory tests. ⋯ Implementation of PLTEM and FIBTEM A5 in ROTEM-guided transfusion protocols may improve transfusion management.