Thromboembolic complications are associated with COVID-19 owing to the hypercoagulable nature of the disease. Although patients with COVID-19 often have higher levels of fibrinogen and D-dimers, hypercoagulability has been attributed to various other factors too. In this prospective observational study conducted between April 2020 and June 2020, we compared coagulation parameters using thromboelastography in COVID-19 patients to non-COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU with respiratory failure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Perioperative complications of liver resection surgery are common but individual patient-level prediction is difficult. Most risk models are unvalidated and may not be clinically useful. We aimed to validate a risk prediction model for complications of liver resection, the Revised Frailty Index (rFI), at a high volume centre.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Time spent on the waiting list before liver transplantation (LT) provides an opportunity to optimize recipient fitness through prehabilitation, potentially reducing the physiological impact of major surgery. We assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of a 6-week exercise program in patients with cirrhotic liver disease awaiting LT.
Methods: This single-center, prospective cohort, feasibility study, enrolled patients awaiting LT to a 6-week period of thrice weekly, supervised exercise on a static bike.
Liver transplantation is a complex procedure that requires a truly multidisciplinary team approach with anaesthetic involvement from the outset in order to ensure excellent outcomes. Before a patient is placed on the waiting list for a liver transplant, a thorough evaluation is undertaken and his/her suitability for transplantation discussed in a patient selection committee meeting. The perioperative management of patients requiring transplantation can be challenging because of the systemic implications of liver disease, approaches to surgical technique and the quality of the grafts used; an increase in the use of marginal donor organs to meet the organ demand poses its own unique difficulties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutoimmune idiopathic thrombocytopenia poses a significant challenge for clinicians in the perioperative period. Repeat platelet transfusions may not result in satisfactory increments in the platelet count and routine coagulation screens may not reflect the degree of abnormal hemostasis. We report the use of point-of-care testing with thromboelastography and platelet counting in managing a patient with refractory autoimmune idiopathic thrombocytopenia, undergoing a splenectomy for active bleeding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt has been known for several decades that thromboelastographic analysis of the blood of patients undergoing liver transplantation may show a heparin-like effect (HLE) at the time of reperfusion. However, the prevalence of HLE and the origin of these heparin-like substances remain largely unstudied. The primary aim of this retrospective observational analysis was to determine the prevalence of the HLE in 211 consecutive patients having liver transplantation in our institution at various stages throughout the transplant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF