Available Bleeding Scoring Systems Poorly Predict Major Bleeding in the Acute Phase of Pulmonary Embolism

Role of Cytokines in Predicting Early Major Bleeding in Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism

INTRODUCTION

Anticoagulant therapy is critical for venous thromboembolism (VTE) management, though bleeding remains a major concern, ranging from mild to fatal events. This study aimed to assess the predictive value of cytokines for major bleeding in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

METHODS

In this prospective, observational study, patients aged ≥ 18 years with acute PE were enrolled from April 2021 to September 2022 and followed for 30 days. Exclusion criteria included asymptomatic PE, VTE without PE, and chronic anticoagulation. Major bleeding was defined as bleeding that required ≥ 2 transfused units of red blood cells, occurred in critical areas, or was fatal. Blood samples were collected at diagnosis to measure IL-6, IL-1beta, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-alpha. Statistical analyses used bivariate and multivariate logistic regression (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

Out of 191 patients (mean age 68.6 years, 52.9% male), 8.4% died, and 4.2% experienced major bleeding within 30 days. IL-8 > 40 pg/mL and TNF-alpha > 8.5 pg/mL were linked to major bleeding. IL-8 > 40 pg/mL independently predicted early major bleeding (adjusted OR 9.40; 95% CI 1.38-63.69). Cox regression showed HRs of 12.60 for IL-8 and 5.61 for TNF-alpha.

CONCLUSION

High IL-8 levels at diagnosis were predictive of major bleeding in acute PE patients. Further studies are required to confirm these findings.

Bleeding in patients hospitalized with acute pulmonary embolism in Brazil

OBJECTIVE

Acute Pulmonary Embolism (APE) is a disease with increasing incidence worldwide. Antithrombotics are the cornerstone of the treatment. Bleeding is an adverse event related to this therapy. The objective was to evaluate the prevalence of bleeding in a sample of Brazilian patients hospitalized with APE and the impact of this complication on mortality. Additionally, the performance of some bleeding predictive scores was evaluated in this sample.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was carried out on patients hospitalized with APE from January 2009 through August 2017. The medical records of these patients were reviewed, and the bleeding recorded during hospital stay was classified according to the "Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) bleeding risk." Five different predictive scores for bleeding after APE (RIETE, PE-SARD, VTE-BLEED, Kuijer, and ATRIA) were applied. Overall mortality at 30 days and one year were assessed.

RESULTS

One hundred fifty-nine patients were included. The prevalence of any bleeding was 36/159 (23 %), major bleeding was 10/159 (06 %), minor bleeding was 11/159 (07 %), and bleeding requiring attention was 15/159 (10 %). Only major bleeding was associated with higher mortality at one-year follow-up with a Relative Risk (RR) of 2.00 (95 % CI 1.16-3.57; p = 0.044). All bleeding predictive scores evaluated showed low accuracy in identifying patients at higher risk of bleeding.

CONCLUSION

Patients hospitalized with APE in Brazil had a high prevalence of bleeding. The major bleeding increased the one-year mortality. The bleeding predictive scores assessed showed limited accuracy in identifying patients at high risk of bleeding.

Clinical predictors of warfarin-associated bleeding: A case-control study

Despite the advent of directly acting oral anticoagulants, warfarin is still widely used in resource-poor settings. Bleeding as a result of warfarin overdosage is common and risk factors seem to vary between patient populations. Predictors of bleeding in patients using warfarin were studied using a case-control design. We calculated the Hypertension, Abnormal Renal/Liver Function, Stroke, Bleeding History or Predisposition, Labile INR, Elderly, Drugs/Alcohol (HAS-BLED) score (a bleeding risk prediction tool). Cases chosen were adults prescribed warfarin presenting with bleeding and controls were likewise taking warfarin but had no bleeding in the previous six months. The most common indication for warfarin use was venous thromboembolism. Recent decrease in food intake was strongly associated with bleeding. Older age, higher warfarin doses, recent illness in the past fortnight and prior bleeding were also independent predictors. A higher HAS-BLED score was not predictive independently. Closer monitoring of international normalised ratio is therefore advisable during acute illnesses and in those with decreased food intake.

Shock Index and Physiological Stress Index for reestratifying patients with intermediate-high risk pulmonary embolism

OBJECTIVE

Study and Evaluation of Two Scores: Shock Index (SI) and Physiological Stress Index (PSI) as discriminators for proactive treatment (reperfusion before decompensated shock) in a population of intermediate-high risk pulmonary embolism (PE).

DESIGN

Using a database from a retrospective cohort with clinical variables and the outcome variable of "proactive treatment", a comparison of the populations was conducted. Optimal cut-off for "proactive treatment" points were obtained according to the SI and PSI. Comparisons were carried out based on the cut-off points of both indices.

SETTING

Patients admitted to a mixed ICU for PE.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients >18 years old admitted to the ICU with intermediate-high risk PE recruited from January 2015 to October 2022.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST

Population comparison and metrics regarding predictive capacity when determining proactive treatment.

RESULTS

SI and PSI independently have a substandard predictive capacity for discriminating patients who may benefit from an early reperfusion therapy. However, their combined use improves detection of sicker intermediate-high risk PE patients (Sensitivity = 0.66) in whom an early reperfusion therapy may improve outcomes (Specificity = 0.9).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of the SI and PSI in patients with intermediate-high risk PE could be useful for selecting patients who would benefit from proactive treatment.

Efficacy and Safety of Warfarin for the Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism - A Multicenter Prospective Observational Cohort Study in Japan (AKAFUJI Study)

BACKGROUND

A large-scale prospective study of the efficacy and safety of warfarin for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has not been conducted in Japan. Therefore, we conducted a real-world prospective multicenter observational cohort study (AKAFUJI Study; UMIN000014132) to investigate the efficacy and safety of warfarin for VTE.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Between May 2014 and March 2017, 352 patients (mean [±SD] age 67.7±14.8 years; 57% female) with acute symptomatic/asymptomatic VTE were enrolled; 284 were treated with warfarin. The cumulative incidence of recurrent symptomatic VTE was higher in patients without warfarin than in those treated with warfarin (8.7 vs. 2.2 per 100 person-years, respectively; P=0.018). The cumulative incidence of bleeding complications was not significantly different between the 2 groups. The mean prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) during warfarin on-treatment was <1.5 in 180 patients, 1.5-2.5 in 97 patients, and >2.5 in 6 patients. The incidence of bleeding complications was significantly higher in patients with PT-INR >2.5, whereas the incidence of recurrent VTE was not significantly different between the 3 PT-INR groups. The cumulative incidence of recurrent VTE and bleeding complications did not differ significantly among those in whom VTE was provoked by a transient risk factor, was unprovoked, or was associated with cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Warfarin therapy with an appropriate PT-INR according to Japanese guidelines is effective without increasing bleeding complications, regardless of patient characteristics.

In Search of the Appropriate Anticoagulant-Associated Bleeding Risk Assessment Model for Cancer-Associated Thrombosis Patients

Simple Summary

Patients with venous thromboembolism events in the context of cancer should receive anticoagulants as long as the cancer is active. Therefore, a tailor-made anticoagulation strategy should rely on an individualized assessment of the risks of recurrent venous thromboembolism and anticoagulant-associated bleeding. No existing risk assessment model for anticoagulant-associated bleeding risk has been validated for cancer-associated thrombosis. To obtain a better risk assessment model to assess anticoagulant-associated bleeding risk in cancer-associated thrombosis patients, we deemed it necessary to answer questions related to how and when to assess anticoagulant-associated bleeding risk as well as what factors to assess for which patients.

Abstract

Patients with venous thromboembolism events (VTE) in the context of cancer should receive anticoagulants as long as the cancer is active. Therefore, a tailor-made anticoagulation strategy should rely on an individualized risk assessment model (RAM) of recurrent VTE and anticoagulant-associated bleeding. The aim of this review is to investigate the applicability of the currently available RAMs for anticoagulant-associated bleeding after VTE in the CAT population and to provide new insights on how we can succeed in developing a new anticoagulant-associated bleeding RAM for the current medical care of CAT patients. A systematic search for peer-reviewed publications was performed in PubMed. Studies, including systematic reviews, were eligible if they comprised patients with VTE and used a design for developing a prediction model, score, or other prognostic tools for anticoagulant-associated bleeding during anticoagulant treatment. Out of 15 RAMs, just the CAT-BLEED was developed for CAT patients and none of the presented RAMs developed for the VTE general population were externally validated in a population of CAT patients. The current review illustrates the limitations of the available RAMs for anticoagulant-associated bleeding in CAT patients. The development of a RAM for bleeding risk assessment in patients with CAT is warranted.