Off Target: Case Report of Heparin Resistance in a Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit Patient

Introduction Heparin resistance was discovered in a patient in the surgical intensive care unit who underwent emergency endovascular coiling and later an anterior communicating artery clipping procedure to treat subarachnoid hemorrhage due to rupture of an anterior communicating artery aneurysm. Clinical Findings On intensive care unit day 17/postoperative day 3, the patient experienced shortness of breath, persistent tachycardia, and hypoxia. Bilateral pulmonary emboli, a saddle embolus, and lower-extremity and upper-extremity deep vein thrombi were diagnosed. The patient received high-dose unfractionated heparin (>35 000 U/24 h), and activated partial thromboplastin times remained subtherapeutic over the next 72 hours. Diagnosis Factor VIII activity, fibrinogen, antithrombin activity, antithrombin antigen, and platelet factor 4 were measured. The results demonstrated an increase in factor VIII activity to 342% (reference range, 50%-200%), elevated fibrinogen level of 441 mg/dL (reference range, 200-400 mg/dL), antithrombin antigen level of 92% (reference range, 80%-130%), elevated antithrombin activity of 108% (reference range, 80%-100%), and negative platelet factor 4 result, indicating that the patient did not have heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and confirming the diagnosis of heparin resistance. Conclusions Risk factors for heparin resistance include antithrombin deficiency, elevation of factor VIII or fibrinogen level, elevation in heparin-binding proteins, increased heparin clearance, sepsis, trauma, and burns. The astute critical care nurse may be the first to recognize this condition in a patient, preventing a potentially fatal complication.

Clinical Profile of Haemophilia in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pune, Maharashtra, India

BACKGROUND Haemophilia’s are X-linked hereditary blood clotting disorders due to deficiency of factor VIII (haemophilia A) or factor IX (haemophilia B) & also has identical clinical manifestations, screening tests abnormalities and sex-linked genetic transmission. Haemophilia’s result from defects in the factor VIII / IX gene that lead to decreased amount of factor VIII / IX protein, the presence of a functionally abnormal protein, or combination of both. Haemophilia A is a classic example of an X-linked recessive trait. The severity of their bleeding depends on their factor VIII activity level; and, rarely, a woman can have very low factor VIII activity, and present with symptoms of moderate or even severe haemophilia. We wanted to study the clinical profile of patients of haemophilia admitted in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study enrolling 60 known cases of haemophilia A & B admitted in wards & ICU / attending OPD of a tertiary care hospital. History was obtained in detail & thorough clinical examination was carried out. Precipitating factors for bleeding (spontaneous / minor trauma / major trauma / surgical operation / dental procedure / others), family h / o bleeding were studied in detail. RESULTS Of the total 60 cases of haemophilia, majority (49) of cases were of haemophilia A and 11 cases were of haemophilia B. In the study, majority (28.33 %) of cases belonged to 12 - 20 years age group and the most common presentation was haemarthrosis (61.67 %). 6 patients had factor VIII inhibitor antibodies and all of them were of haemophilia A. CONCLUSIONS Haemarthrosis is the most common clinical presentation of haemophilia and most common cause for haemarthrosis is spontaneous bleeding. Most common joint involved in bleeding was knee joint (target joint). Presence of factor VIII inhibitor antibodies specially in haemophilia A patients is not uncommon. KEYWORDS Haemophilia, Factor VIII, Factor IX

“You’re only a carrier” – women and the language of haemophilia

Women who have the gene variant for haemophilia are labelled solely as ‘carriers’ unless they have a factor VIII activity of ≤40%. This term, which describes an individual who can pass on a disorder but are themselves unaffected, reflects a legacy that extends from the 18th century to the present day. There is strong evidence that women labelled as carriers experience heavy periods, joint damage, pain and impaired quality of life. The label ‘carrier’ does not recognise this burden and is associated with guilt, stigma and difficulty accessing care. People living with a long-term disorder should now be described using person-first terminology and it is common to see the term ‘people with haemophilia’. The term ‘carrier’ should be limited to its application in genetics and not used as a catch-all label for women with haemophilia.

Iron Deficient Anemia May Obscure a Diagnosis of Low VWF, VWD or Mild Hemophilia a in Biological Females with Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

INTRODUCTION Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is one of the most common disease manifestations of biological females with inherited bleeding disorders and is often accompanied by iron deficient anemia (IDA). The most common bleeding disorders identified in biological females are von Willebrand Disease (VWD)/low von Willebrand Factor levels (low VWF) and heterozygosity for factor VIII genetic defects. Several pre-analytical variables including elevated adrenergic stress and estrogen-states can make it challenging to accurately diagnose these conditions as these variables are known to influence VWF and factor VIII activity levels. We sought to investigate whether an iron depleted state impacts the results of a laboratory assessment for VWD/low VWF or mild hemophilia A. METHODS Subjects were recruited from the Spots and Dots clinic (female-identifying bleeding disorder clinic) through the University of Colorado's Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center. Eligible subjects included biological females of any age who had at least two sets of laboratory assessments for von Willebrand levels (VWF antigen, VWF activity, and factor VIII activity level) and markers for total body iron stores (complete blood count and ferritin). Age at time of first testing, iron prescriptions, and underlying bleeding disorder diagnoses were also recorded. IDA was defined as a ferritin less than 20ng/mL with accompanying anemia (Hb <14.3 g/dL). Descriptive statistics and Fisher's exact tests were used to evaluate the association of factor VIII/VWF activity levels and iron stores. RESULTS Thirty-seven subjects were included in the final analysis. The average age at time of first testing was 21.5 years (range 9-50 years). IDA was present in 22 patients at the time of first assessment and in 20 patients at follow up. Serum ferritin improved overall in 23 patients between assessments. Oral iron was prescribed in 20 patients and intravenous iron was prescribed in three. An improvement in serum ferritin predicted a decrease in factor VIII activity (p = 0.0092) on follow-up assessment but did not predict a significant decrease in VWF activity levels (p = 0.0819) (Figure 1). Retesting factor VIII and VWF activity levels after iron repletion led to a diagnosis of low VWF in 4 cases (10.8%) and VWD in 2 cases (5.4%) that would have otherwise been classified as normal without retesting. CONCLUSIONS IDA is frequent in women with HMB and may be insufficiently managed with oral iron therapy in adolescents and those with an underlying bleeding disorder. The fact that many patients remained iron deficient at the time of follow up testing may have blunted the results of this analysis. Despite this limitation, this study still suggests that iron deficient anemia may be a significant enough biological stressor to increase factor VIII and possibly VWF activity levels to a point that may obscure an underlying diagnosis of VWD, low VWF, or hemophilia A. Further investigations are warranted to confirm if universal retesting of VWF and factor VIII activity levels are diagnostically imperative after correction of IDA. Such a recommendation may have a significant impact on this patient population as discovery of an underlying bleeding disorder diagnosis can not only provide an explanation for a patient's HMB but also can identifying individuals who may be at increased risk for bleeding at other sites or during invasive procedures. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.