A 67-year-old man presented for urgent liver transplantation (LT). Screening revealed the rare combination of antiRhesus (D) and antiKidd Jk(a) antibodies, requiring antigen-negative red blood cells (RBC) for both phenotypes. This combination has not been reported during LT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hypofibrinogenemia has been shown to predict massive transfusion and is associated with higher mortality in severely injured patients. However, the role of empiric fibrinogen replacement in bleeding trauma patients remains controversial. We sought to determine the effect of empiric cryoprecipitate as an adjunct to a balanced transfusion strategy (1:1:1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnesthesiologists should be aware of the coagulation implications of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) with albumin replacement for desensitization of kidney transplant (KT) recipients. We describe a case where the final preoperative TPE was performed with albumin. A TEGR 6s demonstrated defects in fibrinogen component to clot strength.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc (Bayl Univ Med Cent)
September 2023
Anesthetic considerations for adults with Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome, part of the PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) hamartoma tumor syndrome, are not well described. As patients may require surgical intervention for associated musculoskeletal, intestinal, oncologic, or soft tissue masses, knowledge of implications of anesthesia is necessary. Airway management may be challenging given macrocephaly and accumulation of lymphangiomatous tissue in the oro/hypopharynx.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc (Bayl Univ Med Cent)
October 2022
Although thrombocytopenia is common in end-stage liver disease, severe, refractory thrombocytopenia during liver transplantation is rare, and if immune based, usually presents months or years later. This case describes an adult woman in whom preoperative evaluation had not determined an immune-related cause of thrombocytopenia. Clot strength was dramatically impaired as measured by thrombelastography during the transplant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth
January 2023
J Neurosurg Anesthesiol
January 2024
Patients with cirrhosis often have abnormal hemostasis, with increased risk of hemorrhage and thrombosis. Thromboelastography provides a rapid assessment of the coagulation status and can guide product transfusions in adult patients with cirrhosis. This study aimed to determine whether the use of thromboelastography in adult patients with cirrhosis decreases blood product use and impacts adverse events or mortality compared with standard practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranexamic acid (TXA) is a potent antifibrinolytic with documented efficacy in reducing blood loss and allogeneic red blood cell transfusion in several clinical settings. With a growing emphasis on patient blood management, TXA has become an integral aspect of perioperative blood conservation strategies. While clinical applications of TXA in the perioperative period are expanding, routine use in select clinical scenarios should be supported by evidence for efficacy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExsanguination is the leading cause of death in severely injured patients; nevertheless, prehospital blood transfusion (PHT) remains a controversial topic. Here, we review the pros and cons of PHT, which is now routine in treatment of military trauma patients in the civilian setting. While PHT may improve survival in those who suffer blunt injury or require prolonged transport from the site of injury, PHT for civilian trauma generally is not supported by high-quality evidence.
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