The Journal of extra-corporeal technology
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J Extra Corpor Technol · Feb 2001
A four-year experience with patient individualized heparin and protamine dosing using the Hemochron RxDx system.
Cardiac surgical case histories, collected over 4 years at Huntsville Hospital in Alabama, were reviewed for 2,293 patients. Patients were separated into two dosing groups for both heparin and protamine, hospital empirically dosed and Hemochron RxDx dosed. Review of the heparin dosing information found that incomplete data were collected for 47 patients, leaving 2,246 patients eligible to be evaluated for heparin dose comparison. ⋯ The overall RxDx dose (293 mg) was 16% lower than the average empirical dose (348 mg). The RxDx system has been shown to be an effective method for determining patient-specific dosing for both heparin and protamine. This long-term clinical experience demonstrates the consistency and reliability of patient maintenance using this individualized dosing system, which has been shown, in other independent evaluations, to lead to improved patient outcomes.