Marijuana Use is Not a Contraindication for Tranexamic Acid Utilization in Lumbar Spine Surgery

Study Design Retrospective cohort study Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate safety in lumbar spinal fusion with tranexamic acid (TXA) utilization in patients using marijuana. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study involving a single surgeon’s cases of 1 to 4 level lumbar fusion procedures. Two hundred and ninety-four patients were followed for ninety days post-operatively. Consecutive patients were self-reported for daily marijuana use (n = 146) and compared to a similar cohort of patients who denied usage of marijuana (n = 146). Outcomes were collected, which included length of stay (LOS), estimated blood loss (EBL), post-operative myocardial infarction, seizures, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, death, readmission, need for further surgery, infection, anaphylaxis, acute renal injury, and need for blood product transfusion. Results Patients in the marijuana usage cohort had similar age (58.9 years ±12.9 vs 58.7 years ±14.8, P = .903) and distribution of levels fused ( P = .431) compared to the non-usage cohort. Thromboembolic events were rare in both groups (marijuana usage: 1 vs non-usage: 2). Compared to the non-usage cohort, the marijuana usage cohort had a similar average EBL (329.9 ± 298.5 mL vs 374.5 ± 363.8 mL; P = .254). Multivariate regression modeling demonstrated that neither EBL (OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.64-2.49) nor need for transfusion (OR 1.56, 95% CI 0.43-5.72) varied between cohorts. The non-usage cohort had twice the risk of prolonged LOS compared to the marijuana usage cohort (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.15-3.63). Conclusion Marijuana use should not be considered a contraindication for TXA utilization in lumbar spine surgery.

Efficacy of Tranexamic Acid in Pediatric Craniofacial and Orthognathic Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

Craniofacial and orthognathic surgery are high risk procedures for surgical blood loss. Significant blood loss leads to increased rates of blood product transfusion which may be associated with increased morbidity to the patient. The use of anti-fibrinolytics such as tranexamic acid has become popular in these procedures. However, the evidence to support its use in pediatric craniofacial and orthognathic surgery is sparse. This review analyzes the current randomized control trials assessing the use of tranexamic acid in craniofacial and orthognathic surgery. The study reviewed published literature up until December 20th, 2020. Six trials were included in this analysis. Pooled data showed that patients who received tranexamic acid during craniofacial or orthognathic surgery have less blood loss compared to those in control groups (mean difference—5.47 ml/kg [CI -7.02-3.82], P value <.05). Hence, rate of blood product transfusion in patients who received tranexamic acid is lower than control group by 2.01 ml/kg (CI 95%, 1.27-2.74, P value <.05). In summary, this review showed that craniofacial and orthognathic surgery patients who receive tranexamic acid might have lower estimated blood loss and receive less volume of blood products transfusion.

Reduction in blood product transfusion requirements with early on-ECMO repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Background For infants with severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) stabilized with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), early repair on ECMO improves outcome; however when compared to operative repair after ECMO, repair on ECMO is associated with increase bleeding risk and need for blood product transfusions. Methods A retrospective review of 54 patients with CDH placed on ECMO prior to CDH repair was performed. For the subset of patients repaired on ECMO, analysis comparing those repaired early (within 48 h of cannulation) and late (beyond 48 h) on ECMO was performed. Outcomes of interest included survival to discharge, days on ECMO, and postoperative blood product utilization. Results When compared to those patients repaired prior to 48 h of ECMO initiation, 57.7% of patients survived versus 40.9% of late repair patients. For those repaired early, blood product utilization was significantly less. Early repair patients received a median of 72 mL/kg packed red blood cells (PRBC) and 75 mL/kg platelets compared to 151.9 mL/kg and 98.7 mL/kg, respectively (p < 0.05 respectively). There was no difference in median days on ECMO (p = 0.38). Conclusion Our data supports prior reports of improved outcome with repair with 48 h of ECMO initiation and suggests early repair on ECMO is associated with less bleeding and decreased blood product requirement in the postoperative period.

Controversies and evidence gaps in the early management of severe traumatic brain injury: back to the ABCs

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for around 30% of all trauma-related deaths. Over the past 40 years, TBI has remained a major cause of mortality after trauma. The primary injury caused by the injurious mechanical force leads to irreversible damage to brain tissue. The potentially preventable secondary injury can be accentuated by addressing systemic insults. Early recognition and prompt intervention are integral to achieve better outcomes. Consequently, surgeons still need to be aware of the basic yet integral emergency management strategies for severe TBI (sTBI). In this narrative review, we outlined some of the controversies in the early care of sTBI that have not been settled by the publication of the Brain Trauma Foundation’s 4th edition guidelines in 2017. The topics covered included the following: mode of prehospital transport, maintaining airway patency while securing the cervical spine, achieving adequate ventilation, and optimizing circulatory physiology. We discuss fluid resuscitation and blood product transfusion as components of improving circulatory mechanics and oxygen delivery to injured brain tissue. An outline of evidence-based antiplatelet and anticoagulant reversal strategies is discussed in the review. In addition, the current evidence as well as the evidence gaps for using tranexamic acid in sTBI are briefly reviewed. A brief note on the controversial emergency surgical interventions for sTBI is included. Clinicians should be aware of the latest evidence for sTBI. Periods between different editions of guidelines can have an abundance of new literature that can influence patient care. The recent advances included in this review should be considered both for formulating future guidelines for the management of sTBI and for designing future clinical studies in domains with clinical equipoise.

A positive urine pregnancy test with haemoperitoneum: misdiagnosed postpartum choriocarcinoma with uterine rupture mimicking ruptured ectopic pregnancy

Objectives Choriocarcinoma after a term pregnancy is rare and can be life-threatening, especially when it perforates the uterus, resulting in massive haemoperitoneum. As uterine rupture due to choriocarcinoma is uncommonly encountered in the clinical practice, its diagnosis is often missed or delayed. Case presentation We present a case of a 41-year-old para 4 + 1 who had acute abdomen and hypovolaemic shock secondary to haemoperitoneum at three months postpartum period. The urine pregnancy test was positive, and, therefore, a provisional diagnosis of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy was made. She was managed aggressively with fluids and blood product transfusion at the emergency department to achieve haemodynamic stability. Subsequently, she underwent an emergency laparotomy where intraoperatively noted a perforation at the left posterior uterine cornu with purplish tissue spillage. A wedge resection was performed, and the histopathological examination (HPE) was reported as atypical trophoblastic cells, in which choriocarcinoma could not be ruled out. The patient then underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy three weeks later. The final HPE confirmed the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma. Conclusions The clinical presentation of postpartum choriocarcinoma can be indistinguishable from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. A high index of suspicion is crucial to allow early diagnosis.

Pathogen Reduced Cryoprecipitate and Fibrinogen Concentrate Have Delayed Resuscitation of Simulated Dilutional Coagulopathy in a Microfluidic Model of Bleeding When Compared to Cryoprecipitate

Impaired fibrinogen function, one component of trauma-associated coagulopathy, is highly associated with increased mortality in patients with severe traumatic bleeding. Fibrinogen replacement is crucial for improving outcomes in bleeding patients. The two most common clinically-used hemostatic adjuncts for fibrinogen supplementation are fibrinogen concentrates (FibCon) and cryoprecipitate (Cryo), yet which of these products provides better hemostatic resuscitation remains controversial. Where FibCon is predominantly a source of fibrinogen, Cryo contains additional factors which may enhance hemostatic efficacy, such as FVIII and FXIII (inherent to clot strength and fibrin crosslinking) and von Willebrand factor (VWF, important for platelet adhesion and aggregation). Cryo poses more logistical challenges than FibCon, as Cryo is a frozen product that requires thawing (20 minutes) prior to use, and has a shelf life of 4-6 hours post thaw. FibCon is lyophilized, and can be reconstituted and used within 10 minutes, but with a cost roughly 3 times that of Cryo, use of FibCon can be cost-prohibitive. Ultimately, in the setting of hemostatic resuscitation, every minute matters and each minute delay in blood product transfusion is associated with a 5% increase in mortality. Moreover, Cryo is associated with an increased risk of transfusion transmitted infection (TTI).Thus, there is a need for an immediately available and safe fibrinogen source for use in hemostatic resuscitation. Pathogen reduction (PR) of blood products renders any nucleic acid-containing source replication incompetent via crosslinking using psoralens and ultraviolet light. PR was recently adapted for use with cryoprecipitate, yielding a novel hemostatic adjunct - pathogen reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex, or PR-Cryo FC. We have previously shown PR-Cryo FC stored out to 10 days performs similarly to Cryo and FibCon in current standard assays used to assess hemostatic function. However, as primary hemostasis is dictated by physiologically relevant flow conditions, we wanted to determine if PR of cryoprecipitate altered its hemostatic function during resuscitation of dilutional coagulopathy using a microfluidic model of hemorrhage. Healthy human whole blood (WB), Cryo, FibCon, and PR-Cryo FC were stained with fluorescent antibodies specific for VWF, CD41, fibrinogen, and FXIII. Stained WB was diluted 3:7 in 0.9% NaCl to induce dilutional coagulopathy (dWB). dWB was resuscitated 1:5 with stained adjuncts (Cryo:dWB, FibCon:dWB, or PR-Cryo FC:dWB) and perfused at three different shear rates (150, 500, 3500 1/s) through a microfluidic model of hemorrhage (a lumen that "bleeds" through an injury site into a collagen/tissue factor-coated extravascular space). Occlusion of the injury site was defined as the point at which clot formation sealed the injury site for &gt; 3 minutes. The time from initial perfusion to occlusion was defined as the bleeding time (BT, seconds). If no seal was formed, the assay was stopped at 20 minutes, and the assay given a BT of 1200 seconds. Real-time phase and fluorescent images of the injury site were acquired. Data was extracted from real-time phase and fluorescent images using MATLAB. Both FibCon:dWB and PR-Cryo FC:dWB had significantly increased BT compared to Cryo:dWB at low shear (150 1/s). PR-Cryo FC:dWB had significantly increased BT compared to Cryo:dWB at medium shear (500 1/s), and at high shear (3500 1/s) there were no significant differences in BT between hemostatic adjuncts. However, kinetic analysis at high shear revealed there was a significant delay in clot formation and accumulation in the injury site, such that by 5 minutes, Cryo:dWB had filled 75% of the injury site and FibCon:dWB and PR-Cryo FC:dWB had only filled 50% of the injury site. Real-time fluorescent image analysis showed that both FibCon:dWB and PR-Cryo FC:dWB had reduced VWF deposition at the injury site compared to Cryo:dWB, and this led to a delays in platelet recruitment. FibCon has less VWF than Cryo, which would explain the delayed VWF deposition and platelet recruitment. In contrast, PR-Cryo FC and Cryo have similar amounts of VWF, suggesting that VWF from PR-Cryo FC has limited binding to the collagen-coated injury site, and as PR-Cryo FC:dWB phenocopies FibCon:dWB during clot formation at high shear, this suggests that pathogen reduction of Cryo may impair early VWF mediated capture of platelets at high shear. Disclosures Spinella: Secure Transfusion Services: Current Employment, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; Cerus Corporation: Consultancy, Research Funding.

Effectiveness of Rotational Thormboelastometry Algorithm Guided Transfusion Practice in Living Donor Liver

Background: Liver transplantation is a complicated surgical procedure that involves many complexities such as bleeding and the risk of transfusing blood components. Aim: To investigate the effect of the Rotational Thormboelastometry (ROTEM) algorithm-based blood or blood product transfusion, in clinical outcome of living donor liver transplant (LDLT) patients. Study design: Retrospective study Place and duration of the study: Bahria Town international hospital Lahore from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2020. Methodology: Sixty patients of living donor liver transplant were enrolled. They were then divided into two groups as per the approved transfusion protocol. The first group named pre-ROTEM and the second was ROTEM group. Initial biochemical features, blood transfusion and patient outcomes were documented. Results: The need for large-scale blood transfusion and transfusion-related products were statistically less in ROTEM group as compared to the pre-ROTEM group. Conclusion: The ROTEM-based algorithms can be used effectively to reduce transfusion of blood components and may increase the chances of early transplant functioning. Keywords: ROTEM algorithm, Blood transfusion, Liver transplant, ASA guideline, Thromboelastogram, TEG

Bleeding Patient with Anti-PP1Pk – Revisiting Autologous Frozen Red Blood Cells

Introduction/Objective A 34-year-old Amish woman G11P8A2L8, with a known PP1Pk antibody, presented to her OB with vaginal hemorrhage secondary to an incomplete spontaneous abortion. Despite medical treatment, her hemoglobin decreased from 12 g/dL to 8.4 g/dL. She was air transferred to a tertiary care hospital for further management and antigen negative RBC transfusion. Upon arrival, her hemoglobin had decreased to 7.1 g/dL and her BP decreased to 92/64 mm Hg. Additional blood draws were discontinued to save blood wastage. Her blood pressure continued to decrease over the next several hours to a low of 78/36. The patient was briefly stabilized, and a successful dilation and curettage was performed. Methods/Case Report A national search was conducted for PP1Pk antigen negative blood. Her RBC phenotype: C+, c-, E-, e+, K-k-, Fy(a + b-), Jk(a+ b+), MN+, p, Le(a-b-). There was no history of blood product transfusion and the prior miscarriages where thought to be the source of alloimmunization. There was no known family history of the p (P- P1- Pk-) phenotype. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) One unit of PP1Pk antigen negative PRBCs was located approximately 48 hours after the patient’s admission, however, the consulting hematology team suggested withholding transfusion due the possibility of alloimmunization from other blood groups complicating future transfusions. She was treated with IV iron and discharged four days later with a hemoglobin level of 6 g/dL. She was asymptomatic upon discharge. Conclusion Anti-PP1Pk is a rare antibody (5.8 per 1 million people). In the Amish population, the incidence is approximately 1 in 5000 individuals. Our patient is planning for future pregnancies. Upon our suggestion, the patient was encouraged to consider frozen autologous blood donation after recovery and before the next pregnancy as well as close monitoring in high-risk maternal fetal medicine settings. In a patients and donors with anti PP1PK, we recommend advance planning including frozen autologous blood donation and family members RBC antigen studies. They should be encouraged to become regular blood donors for themselves and others.

Blood Conservation and Hemostasis Management in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Pediatric cardiac surgery is associated with significant perioperative blood loss needing blood product transfusion. Transfusion carries serious risks and implications on clinical outcomes in this vulnerable population. The need for transfusion is higher in children and is attributed to several factors including immaturity of the hemostatic system, hemodilution from the CPB circuit, excessive activation of the hemostatic system, and preoperative anticoagulant drugs. Other patient characteristics such as smaller relative size of the patient, higher metabolic and oxygen requirements make successful blood transfusion management extremely challenging in this population and require meticulous planning and multidisciplinary teamwork. In this narrative review we aim to summarize risks and complications associated with blood transfusion in pediatric cardiac surgery and also to summarize perioperative coagulation management and blood conservation strategies.