Monitoring of coagulation by intraoperative thromboelastometry of liver transplantation in a patient using warfarin – case report

We describe the case of a cirrhotic patient taking warfarin and whose coagulation management during liver transplantation was guided by thromboelastometry (ROTEM®).Case reportA 56 year-old male patient diagnosed with alcohol cirrhosis using warfarin (2.5 mg.day−1) for partial portal vein thrombosis with the International Normalized Ratio (INR) of 2.14. At the beginning of surgery, the ROTEM® parameters were all normal. In the anhepatic phase, EXTEM and INTEM remained normal, but FIBTEM showed reduction of amplitude after 10 min and maximum clot firmness. Finally, in the neohepatic phase, there was a slight alteration in the hypocoagulability of most of the parameters of the EXTEM, INTEM and FIBTEM, besides a notable correction of the Coagulation Time (CT) in HEPTEM compared to the CT of the INTEM. Therefore, the patient did not receive any transfusion of blood products during surgery and in the postoperative period, being discharged on the 8th postoperative day.DiscussionCoagulation deficit resulting from cirrhosis distorts INR as a parameter of anticoagulation adequacy and as a determinant of the need for blood transfusion. Thus, thromboelastometry can provide important information for patient management.ResumoIntroduçãoA doença hepática avançada pode, além das complicações hemorrágicas amplamente reconhecidas, ocorrer com eventos trombóticos. Descrevemos o caso de um paciente cirrótico em uso de varfarina, cujo manejo da coagulação durante o trans...
Source: Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research