Coagulopathy and hemostasis management in patients undergoing liver transplantation: Defining a dynamic spectrum across phases of care

Management of coagulopathy among patients with cirrhosis undergoing upper endoscopy and paracentesis: Persistent gaps and areas of consensus in a multispecialty Delphi

Patients with cirrhosis have abnormal coagulation indices such as a high international normalized ratio and low platelet count, but these do not correlate well with periprocedural bleeding risk. We sought to develop a consensus among the multiple stakeholders in cirrhosis care to inform process measures that can help improve the quality of the periprocedural management of coagulopathy in cirrhosis. We identified candidate process measures for periprocedural coagulopathy management in multiple contexts relating to the performance of paracentesis and upper endoscopy. An 11-member panel with content expertise was convened. It included nominees from professional societies for interventional radiology, transfusion medicine, and anesthesia as well as representatives from hematology, emergency medicine, transplant surgery, and community practice. Each measure was evaluated for agreement using a modified Delphi approach (3 rounds of rating) to define the final set of measures. Out of 286 possible measures, 33 measures made the final set. International normalized ratio testing was not required for diagnostic or therapeutic paracentesis as well as diagnostic endoscopy. Plasma transfusion should be avoided for all paracenteses and diagnostic endoscopy. No consensus was achieved for these items in therapeutic intent or emergent endoscopy. The risks of prophylactic platelet transfusions exceed their benefits for outpatient diagnostic paracentesis and diagnostic endosopies. For the other procedures examined, the risks outweigh benefits when platelet count is >20,000/mm 3 . It is uncertain whether risks outweigh benefits below 20,000/mm 3 in other contexts. No consensus was achieved on whether it was permissible to continue or stop systemic anticoagulation. Continuous aspirin was permissible for each procedure. Clopidogrel was permissible for diagnostic and therapeutic paracentesis and diagnostic endoscopy. We found many areas of consensus that may serve as a foundation for a common set of practice metrics for the periprocedural management of coagulopathy in cirrhosis.

Does the Use of Viscoelastic Hemostatic Assays for Periprocedural Hemostasis Management in Liver Disease Improve Clinical Outcomes?

Routine hemostasis parameters such as prothrombin time and fibrinogen are frequently abnormal in patients with chronic liver disease and have been demonstrated to be poor predictors for periprocedural bleeding. Alterations in procoagulant and anticoagulant factors in this population result in a state of rebalanced hemostasis, which is not reflected by routine hemostatic measures. Viscoelastic hemostatic assays (VHA) present a point of care measure of global hemostasis with an emerging role in guiding transfusion in the liver transplant setting. The potential role for VHA in guiding periprocedural transfusion is unknown. Here we critically appraise the available limited evidence on the use of VHA to guide prophylactic treatment in patients with cirrhosis undergoing procedures. We assess whether the impact of a VHA-guided approach improves clinical outcomes. Suggested areas for future research with a focus on clinically relevant outcomes, particularly periprocedural bleeding, are highlighted.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation After Liver Transplant in Children: A Review of the ELSO Registry

There are minimal data describing use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in pediatric patient after a liver transplantation (LT). This study aimed at describing ECMO run in this specific situation using the data from Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Registry between January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2022. We described patients' characteristics at ECMO initiation, outcome and mortality risk factors. We identified 27 patients with a median age of 2.7 years (interquartile range (IQR) = 1.5-9.9). Main indication for ECMO support was respiratory (14/27 [52%]) followed by extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) (7/27 [26%]) and cardiac (6/27 [22%]). Overall in-hospital mortality was 63% (17/27). Mortality rate according to ECMO indications was 50% for both respiratory and cardiac failure and reached 100% for ECPR patients. Overall, nonsurvivors experienced significantly more complications under ECMO support (p = 0.007). Main on-ECMO complications were hemorrhagic (11/27 [41%]) and thrombotic (7/27 [26%]). No clinical or biologic factors was predictive of patients' outcome. Our results suggest that ECMO support is a viable option for cardiac and respiratory indications after pediatric LT. Occurrence of complications while on ECMO are associated with unfavorable outcomes. The extremely high mortality rate in ECPR patients merits further research.

Procedural-Related Bleeding in Hospitalized Patients With Liver Disease (PROC-BLeeD): An International, Prospective, Multicenter Observational Study

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Hospitalized patients with cirrhosis frequently undergo multiple procedures. The risk of procedural-related bleeding remains unclear, and management is not standardized. We conducted an international, prospective, multicenter study of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis undergoing nonsurgical procedures to establish the incidence of procedural-related bleeding and to identify bleeding risk factors.

METHODS

Hospitalized patients were prospectively enrolled and monitored until surgery, transplantation, death, or 28 days from admission. The study enrolled 1187 patients undergoing 3006 nonsurgical procedures from 20 centers.

RESULTS

A total of 93 procedural-related bleeding events were identified. Bleeding was reported in 6.9% of patient admissions and in 3.0% of the procedures. Major bleeding was reported in 2.3% of patient admissions and in 0.9% of the procedures. Patients with bleeding were more likely to have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (43.9% vs 30%) and higher body mass index (BMI; 31.2 vs 29.5). Patients with bleeding had a higher Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score at admission (24.5 vs 18.5). A multivariable analysis controlling for center variation found that high-risk procedures (odds ratio [OR], 4.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.44-8.84), Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score (OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.46-3.86), and higher BMI (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.10-1.80) independently predicted bleeding. Preprocedure international normalized ratio, platelet level, and antithrombotic use were not predictive of bleeding. Bleeding prophylaxis was used more routinely in patients with bleeding (19.4% vs 7.4%). Patients with bleeding had a significantly higher 28-day risk of death (hazard ratio, 6.91; 95% CI, 4.22-11.31).

CONCLUSIONS

Procedural-related bleeding occurs rarely in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. Patients with elevated BMI and decompensated liver disease who undergo high-risk procedures may be at risk to bleed. Bleeding is not associated with conventional hemostasis tests, preprocedure prophylaxis, or recent antithrombotic therapy.

[Application Value of Novel Coagulation Markers in Predicting Postoperarative Complications in the Early Stage After Liver Transplantation]

Objective

To investigate the relationship between thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), plasmin-α 2-plasmininhibitor complex (PIC), soluble thrombomodulin (sTM), and tissue plasminogen activator-inhibitor complex (tPAIC) and postoperative complications in the early stage after liver transplantation (LT).

Methods

We analyzed the perioperative clinical data, including plasma TAT, PIC, sTM, and tPAIC, of 130 post-LT patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), West China Hospital, Sichuan University between December 2021 and November 2022. Patients were divided into two groups, a complication group and a non-complication group, according to whether they experienced complications of Clavien-Dindo (CD) grade Ⅲb and above within 30 days after the surgery. Univariate analysis and binary multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the risk factors for complications within 30 days post-LT.

Results

The incidence of complications of CD grade Ⅲb and above within 30 days post-LT was 33.1% (43/130). Patients in the complication group had significantly higher scores for the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), operative time, intraoperative red blood cell transfusion volume, intraoperative plasma transfusion volume, and plasma TAT, PIC, sTM and tPAIC measured at the time of admission to ICU after the operation than those in the non-complication group did (all P<0.05). Logistic regression showed that for every single U of red blood cells transfused during the transplant surgery, the probabilities of complications within 30 days post-LT increased by 15.1% (95% confidence interval [ C I]: 1.070-1.239, P<0.001) and for the increase of every single TU/mL of plasma sTM measured upon post-LT admission to ICU, the probabilities of complications increased by 13.7% (95% CI: 1.060-1.220, P<0.001).

Conclusion

Plasma sTM measured upon admission to ICU after LT is an independent risk factor for complications within 30 days post-LT, and additional assessment of sTM may help predict complications in the early stage post-LT.

Liver Transplantation and the Elderly Candidate: Perioperative Considerations

Pioneered by Thomas Starzl in the early 1970s, liver transplant (LT) is nowadays often considered a final intervention and standard of care to cure many forms of acute and chronic end-stage liver diseases. Started in recipients younger than 60 years old, LT indications are now much broader, and at least, one-fifth of the candidates are older than 65 years. Problems associated with ageing and frailty in LT recipients and their impact on the entire perioperative course are discussed according to a modern anesthesiological perspective and the anesthesiologist covering the role of the perioperative (transplant) physician.

Haemostasis in cirrhosis: Understanding destabilising factors during acute decompensation

Hospitalised patients with decompensated cirrhosis are in a rebalanced haemostatic state due to a parallel decline in both pro- and anti-haemostatic pathways. However, this rebalanced haemostatic state is highly susceptible to perturbations and may easily tilt towards hypocoagulability and bleeding. Acute kidney injury, bacterial infections and sepsis, and progression from acute decompensation to acute-on-chronic liver failure are associated with additional alterations of specific haemostatic pathways and a higher risk of bleeding. Unfortunately, there is no single laboratory method that can accurately stratify an individual patient's bleeding risk and guide pre-procedural prophylaxis. A better understanding of haemostatic alterations during acute illness would lead to more rational and individualised management of hospitalised patients with decompensated cirrhosis. This review will outline the latest findings on haemostatic alterations driven by acute kidney injury, bacterial infections/sepsis, and acute-on-chronic liver failure in these difficult-to-treat patients and provide evidence supporting more tailored management of bleeding risk.

Blood products and liver transplantation: A strategy to balance optimal preparation with effective blood stewardship

BACKGROUND

Unanticipated transfusion requirements during liver transplantation can delay lifesaving intraoperative resuscitation and strain blood bank resources. Risk-stratified preoperative blood preparation can mitigate these deleterious outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A two-tiered blood preparation protocol for liver transplantation was retrospectively evaluated. Eleven binary variables served as criteria for high-risk (HR) allocation. Primary outcomes included red blood cell (RBC), plasma (FFP), and platelet (Plt) utilization. Secondary outcomes included product under- and overpreparation. Contingency tables for transfusion requirements above the population means were generated using 15 clinical variables. Modified protocols were developed and retrospectively optimized using the study population.

RESULTS

Of 225 recipients, 102 received HR preoperative orders, which correlated to higher intraoperative transfusion requirements. However, univariate analysis identified only two statistical risk factors per product: Hgb ≤7.8 g/dl (p < .001) and MELD ≥38 (p = .035) for RBCs, Hgb ≤7.8 g/dl (p = .002) and acute alcoholic hepatitis (p = 0.015) for FFP, and Hgb ≤7.8 g/dl (p = .001) and normothermic liver preservation (p = .037) for Plts. Based on these findings, we developed modified protocols for individual products, which were evaluated retrospectively for their effectiveness at reducing under-preparatory events while limiting product overpreparation. Cohort statistics were used to define the preparation strategy for each protocol. Retrospective comparative analysis demonstrated the superiority of the modified protocols by improving the under-preparation rate from 24% to <10% for each product, which required a 1.56-fold and 1.44-fold increase in RBC and FFP overpreparation, respectively. Importantly, there was no difference in Plt overpreparation.

DISCUSSION

We report translatable data-driven blood bank preparation protocols for liver transplantation.