The Journal of extra-corporeal technology
-
J Extra Corpor Technol · Sep 2003
Review Case ReportsUnique considerations for the spinal cord injured patient undergoing cardiac surgery utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass.
A 37-year-old male with mitral valve regurgitation presented for mitral valve replacement. He has been a C5 quadriplegic for 13 years. The patient had been discharged 2 months before to this admission after a complicated hospital course for Staphylococcus aureus infection of the left hip. ⋯ The problems associated with spinal cord injury present potential complications to this patient population. Numerous triggering mechanisms may lead to a variety of clinical complications. Consideration of a response/ treatment management plan for potential problems must be exercised by the surgical team.
-
J Extra Corpor Technol · Sep 2003
Hand-held personal digital assistant program for the HEMOCHRON RxDx heparin and protamine dosing system.
The use of in vitro dosing assays for heparin and protamine during cardiac surgery has significantly improved overall postoperative patient outcome. The HEMOCHRON RxDx system (International Technidyne Corp, Edison, NJ) is widely used for anticoagulation management. Based on a series of consecutive in vitro tests, the RxDx system is used to quantify the patient's heparin requirement (heparin response test, HRT), measure the activated clotting time (ACT), calculate the blood heparin concentration and the required protamine dose (protamine response test, PRT), as well as determine the efficacy of heparin reversal (protamine dose assay, PDA-O). ⋯ Following protamine administration, the program calculates any additional protamine required to neutralize residual heparin using the data from a PDA-O test. The RxDx hand-held PDA is accurate, quick, simple, and easy to use, patient data are saved and can be retrieved. The inclusion of this rapid computing technology into the Hemochron RxDx system serves to expand the applications of the Hemochron RxDx system during cardiac interventions.