1.
Are thromboelastometric and thromboelastographic parameters associated with mortality in septic patients? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Boscolo A, Spiezia L, De Cassai A, Pasin L, Pesenti E, Zatta M, Zampirollo S, Andreatta G, Sella N, Pettenuzzo T, et al
Journal of critical care. 2020;61:5-13
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thromboelastometry/elastography (ROTEM/TEG) showed promising results for diagnosis of sepsis-induced coagulopathy, but their association with the outcome is unclear. Our aim was to assess any difference in ROTEM/TEG measurements between septic survivors and non-survivors. METHODS Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were investigated. The research aimed to include any randomized or observational study: i) on septic adult patients admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Emergency Department (ED); ii) including ROTEM/TEG; iii) assessing mortality. RESULTS Seven prospective and four retrospective observational studies (952 patients) were included. According to the INTEM/kaolin-assay, clotting time (CT)/R (standardized mean difference(SMD) -0.29, 95% CI -0.49 to -0.09, p = 0.004) and clot formation time (CFT)/K (SMD -0.42, 95% CI -0.78 to -0.06, p = 0.02) were shorter in survivors. According to the EXTEM-assay, CT was shorter (MD -11.66 s, 95% CI -22.59 to -0.73, p = 0.04), while MCF was higher (MD 3.49 mm, 95% CI 0.43 to 6.55, p = 0.03) in survivors. A hypocoagulable profile was more frequent in non-survivors (OR 0.31, 95%CI 0.18 to 0.55, p < 0.0001). Overall, the risk of bias of the included studies was moderate and the quality of evidence low. CONCLUSIONS Hypocoagulability and lower MCF in EXTEM may be associated with higher mortality in sepsis.
2.
Outcome of Early Hemostatic Intervention in Children With Sepsis and Nonovert Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Admitted to PICU: A Randomized Controlled Trial
El-Nawawy AA, Elshinawy MI, Khater DM, Moustafa AA, Hassanein NM, Wali YA, Nazir HF
Pediatric critical care medicine : a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. 2020
Abstract
Critically ill children with sepsis may develop catastrophic thrombotic and hemorrhagic syndrome of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy as a final common pathway. OBJECTIVES Evaluation of the outcome of early hemostatic management of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy in patients with severe sepsis/septic shock admitted to PICU, before the development of clinically overt disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. DESIGN Prospective interventional, open label randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING PICU at Alexandria University Children's Hospital. PATIENTS The study included 80 patients with proven severe sepsis/septic shock in nonovert disseminated intravascular coagulopathy stage. They were randomly assigned into two groups (group 1 and group 2). INTERVENTIONS Specific intervention was applied for group 1 (plasma transfusion, low-dose unfractionated heparin, and tranexamic acid). MEASUREMENTS All patients had assessment of Pediatric Index of Mortality 2 score, Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction score, inotropic score, routine laboratory, and hemostatic tests including fibrin degradation products and D-dimers. Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy risk assessment scores were calculated on daily basis. RESULTS Mortality rate was significantly higher in group 2. Progression to overt disseminated intravascular coagulopathy was significantly more common among group 2 patients than group 1 (45% and 10%, respectively) (p < 0.0001). Disseminated intravascular coagulopathyRisk Assessment Scores were significantly higher on the second and fifth days among group 2 patients. The initial specific hemostatic intervention was the only significant predictor of survival and prevention of progression to overt disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that early use of a combination of fresh frozen plasma transfusion, low-dose heparin, and tranexamic acid in children with severe sepsis/septic shock in the "window of opportunity" before the development of overt disseminated intravascular coagulopathy stage was associated with better outcome for survival and prevention of progression to overt disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, with no increase in bleeding risk. Larger multicenter studies are needed to further prove this practice.
3.
Utility of thromboelastography and/or thromboelastometry in adults with sepsis: a systematic review
Muller MC, Meijers JC, Vroom MB, Juffermans NP
Critical Care (London, England). 2014;18((2):):R30.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Coagulation abnormalities are frequent in sepsis. Conventional coagulation assays, however, have several limitations. A surge of interest exists in the use of point-of-care tests to diagnose hypo- and hypercoagulability in sepsis. METHODS MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2012. The search was limited to adults, and language was limited to English. Reference lists of retrieved articles were hand-searched for additional studies. Ongoing trials were searched on http://www.controlled-trials.com and http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Studies addressing TEG/ROTEM measurements in adult patients with sepsis admitted to the ICU were considered eligible. RESULTS Of 680 screened articles, 18 studies were included, of which two were randomized controlled trials, and 16 were observational cohort studies. In patients with sepsis, results show both hyper- and hypocoagulability, as well as TEG/ROTEM values that fell within reference values. Both hyper- and hypocoagulability were to some extent associated with diffuse intravascular coagulation. Compared with conventional coagulation tests, TEG/ROTEM can detect impaired fibrinolysis, which can possibly help to discriminate between sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). A hypocoagulable profile is associated with increased mortality. The value of TEG/ROTEM to identify patients with sepsis who could possibly benefit from therapies interfering with the coagulation system could not be assessed, because studies addressing this topic were limited. CONCLUSION TEG/ROTEM could be a promising tool in diagnosing alterations in coagulation in sepsis. Further research on the value of TEG/ROTEM in these patients is warranted. Given that coagulopathy is a dynamic process, sequential measurements are needed to understand the coagulation patterns in sepsis, as can be detected by TEG/ROTEM.