Images in Anesthesiology: A Clogged Dialysis Filter Caused by Severe Acutely Induced Hypertriglyceridemia

THE image shows a massive amount of serum fat clogging a dialysis filter in a 55-yr-old cirrhotic surgical patient, who required sedation with propofol for mechanical ventilation after developing hypoxemic respiratory failure. The propofol drip was used for a total of 40  h at an infusion rate of 60 µg · kg–1· min–1 or less, yet serum triglycerides were found to be markedly elevated. Clogging is caused by a triglyceride-induced procoagulant state, with fibrin and clot deposition in the dialysis membrane.1
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research