Multiple Electrode Aggregometry After Cardiopulmonary Bypass to Assess Platelet (Dys)-Function and Transfusion Threshold: A Concordance Study.

Objective: Cardiac surgery patients have a high risk of postoperative bleeding. Historically, the platelet count has been one of the main parameters used to establish the need for platelet transfusions, and the recent introduction of point-of-care tests for platelet function has allowed clinicians to rationalize platelet transfusion needs by assessing the platelet (dys-)function of the patient. For the present study, the authors evaluated how the introduction of one of these systems-the adenosine diphosphate (ADP) test, performed using a Multiplate electrode analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland)-into their clinical practice had modified their platelet transfusion practice.

Pruritus: a useful sign for predicting the haemodynamic changes that occur following administration of vancomycin.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the haemodynamic changes that follow the appearance of pruritus during vancomycin administration.

Methods: We studied 50 patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass surgery, and we compared data from patients who exhibited pruritus with those from patients who did not. After the monitoring devices had been positioned, vancomycin (15 mg/kg) was continuously infused at a constant rate over 30 min, before induction of anaesthesia.