Whole-blood hypocoagulable profile correlates with a greater risk of death within 28 days in patients with severe sepsis.

Background: Hypocoagulability and impaired platelet function have been associated with a high risk of death in sepsis. The aim of this cohort study was to determine whether sepsis-induced hypocoagulability and platelet dysfunction (assessed by ROTEM® and MULTIPLATE®, respectively) are increased in sepsis patients who died within 28 days after diagnosis compared with patients who died between 29 and 90 days after diagnosis.

Methods: Consecutive patients admitted to the intensive care unit of Padova University Hospital from March 2015 to March 2018 for severe sepsis were considered. We collected blood samples from all patients to determine ROTEM® and MULTIPLATE® parameters. Each enrolled patient underwent a 90-day follow-up and the mortality rate was recorded.

Results: Of 120 patients, 36 (30%) died within 28 days post-diagnosis (Group A), 23 (19%) died between days 29 and 90 post-diagnosis (Group B), and 61 (51%) were alive after 90 days (survivors). The clotting time in the ROTEM® test and clot formation time in the EXTEM test were significantly more prolonged in Group A than in B. Both groups showed a significantly higher hypocoagulability than survivors in the EXTEM test. MULTIPLATE® platelet function analysis showed that platelet function was significantly lower in Group A than in Group B.

Conclusions: The present study showed that the combination of thromboelastometry and impedance aggregometry may help identifying sepsis patients at high risk of short-term death. Larger studies are warranted to corroborate our results.