Comparison of international normalized ratio determined by point-of-care to standard laboratory testing before and after reversal of heparin in cardiac surgery

Study Objective To compare point-of-care (POC) of international normalized ratio to laboratory-derived values before and after cardiopulmonary bypass, with the primary aim of evaluating for any change in the relationship between the tests. Methods This is a prospective observational study with 50 patients undergoing cardiac surgery enrolled. The International normalized ratio measured at two time points, precardiopulmonary bypass and after heparin reversal with protamine using both POC i-STAT and standard laboratory analysis for both time points. A difference of 0.2 between tests at either time point was considered clinically significant based on previous literature. A paired t test was used to test for a changing or statistically significant mean difference between tests. At both time points values were categorized into absolute difference of more than 0.2 or less than 0.2, and a Fisher's exact test was used to determine if an association existed between heparin reversal and a difference more than 0.2. Bland–Altman plots were also evaluated for agreement. Results A statistically and clinically significant mean difference [0.09 vs. 0.25, difference −0.163 95% confidence interval (−0.25, −0.08), P = 0.003] was seen between the laboratory and POC tests when pre and postheparin reversal samples were compared. A significantly greater number of patients had a clinically relevant difference between the tests post compared with pre (four patients vs. 18 patients,...
Source: Blood Coagulation and Fibrinolysis - Category: Hematology Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLES Source Type: research