Background: Bleeding guidelines currently recommend use of viscoelastic testing (VET) to direct haemostatic resuscitation in severe haemorrhage. However, VET-derived parameters of clot initiation, such as clotting time (CT) and activated clotting time (ACT), might not adequately reflect a clinically relevant interaction of procoagulant and anticoagulant activity, as revealed by thrombin generation assays. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of CT and ACT to indicate thrombin generation activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Human induced pluripotent stem cells represent a scalable source of youthful tissue progenitors and secretomes for regenerative therapies. The aim of our study was to investigate the potential of conditioned medium (CM) from hiPSC-mesenchymal progenitors (hiPSC-MPs) to stimulate osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). We also investigated whether prolonged cultivation or osteogenic pre-differentiation of hiPSC-MPs could enhance the stimulatory activity of CM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides critical support for patients with severe cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is used for anticoagulation to maintain circuit patency and avoid thrombotic complications, but it increases the risk of bleeding. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), nano-sized subcellular spheres with potential pro-coagulant properties, are released during cellular stress and may serve as potential targets for monitoring anticoagulation, particularly in thromboinflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is associated with very poor outcomes. Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) for selected patients is a potential therapeutic option for refractory cardiac arrest. However, randomised controlled studies applying eCPR after refractory OHCA have demonstrated conflicting results regarding survival and good functional neurological outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFibrinogen is a coagulation factor in human blood and the first one to reach critical levels in major bleeding. Hypofibrinogenemia (a too low fibrinogen concentration in blood) poses great challenges to first responders, clinicians, and healthcare providers since it represents a risk factor for exsanguination and massive transfusion requirements. Thus, the rapid assessment of the fibrinogen concentration at the point of care has gained considerable importance in preventing and managing major blood loss.
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