Clinical Trial Comparing Heparin and Protamine Fixed and Titrated Doses in Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Summary

There are currently several schemes described for anticoagulation with heparin and its reversal with protamine during cardiac surgery with CPB. The oldest, and most used in our routine environment, is the scheme of fixed doses, in which a bolus dose of heparin at the start of CPB is established in IU/kg of body weight and the dose of protamine at the end of CPB is calculated based on the initial dose of heparin administered. These schemes do not take into account the variability inter-patients and can result in overdose or sub-doses of one or both drugs. The titration schedule of doses of heparin and protamine through the principle of dose-response curve of Bull promotes individualization of dosage according to the response of each patient. This scheme has been associated with an effective reversal of the effect of heparin after CPB and with reduction of post-operatory bleeding and transfusion. The restoration of a state of anticoagulation by heparin after its reversal by protamine is called "rebound effect". It is a phenomenon explained by the recirculation of heparin stored in the reticulum-endothelial system and connective tissue, or by free residual concentration of heparin after clearance of protamine. This effect may be present for more than 6 hours of post-operatory and may contribute to increase post-operatory bleeding.

Timeline

Start

2009-07

Primary completion

2010-03

Completion

2010-11

Publications

• Background Shore-Lesserson L, Reich DL, DePerio M. Heparin and protamine titration do not improve haemostasis in cardiac surgical patients. Can J Anaesth. 1998 Jan;45(1):10-8. doi: 10.1007/BF03011985.
• Background Teoh KH, Young E, Blackall MH, Roberts RS, Hirsh J. Can extra protamine eliminate heparin rebound following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2004 Aug;128(2):211-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2003.12.023.
• Background Pappalardo F, Franco A, Crescenzi G, De Simone F, Torracca L, Zangrillo A. Anticoagulation management in patients undergoing open heart surgery by activated clotting time and whole blood heparin concentration. Perfusion. 2006 Dec;21(5):285-90. doi: 10.1177/0267659106074770.
• Background Griffin MJ, Rinder HM, Smith BR, Tracey JB, Kriz NS, Li CK, Rinder CS. The effects of heparin, protamine, and heparin/protamine reversal on platelet function under conditions of arterial shear stress. Anesth Analg. 2001 Jul;93(1):20-7. doi: 10.1097/00000539-200107000-00005.
• Background Bull BS, Huse WM, Brauer FS, Korpman RA. Heparin therapy during extracorporeal circulation. II. The use of a dose-response curve to individualize heparin and protamine dosage. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1975 May;69(5):685-9.
• Background Society of Thoracic Surgeons Blood Conservation Guideline Task Force; Ferraris VA, Ferraris SP, Saha SP, Hessel EA 2nd, Haan CK, Royston BD, Bridges CR, Higgins RS, Despotis G, Brown JR; Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Special Task Force on Blood Transfusion; Spiess BD, Shore-Lesserson L, Stafford-Smith M, Mazer CD, Bennett-Guerrero E, Hill SE, Body S. Perioperative blood transfusion and blood conservation in cardiac surgery: the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists clinical practice guideline. Ann Thorac Surg. 2007 May;83(5 Suppl):S27-86. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2007.02.099.
• Background Jobes DR, Aitken GL, Shaffer GW. Increased accuracy and precision of heparin and protamine dosing reduces blood loss and transfusion in patients undergoing primary cardiac operations. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1995 Jul;110(1):36-45. doi: 10.1016/S0022-5223(05)80007-8.
• Background Levy JH, Tanaka KA. Anticoagulation and reversal paradigms: is too much of a good thing bad? Anesth Analg. 2009 Mar;108(3):692-4. doi: 10.1213/ane.0b013e31819614dd. No abstract available.
• Background Despotis GJ, Joist JH, Hogue CW Jr, Alsoufiev A, Kater K, Goodnough LT, Santoro SA, Spitznagel E, Rosenblum M, Lappas DG. The impact of heparin concentration and activated clotting time monitoring on blood conservation. A prospective, randomized evaluation in patients undergoing cardiac operation. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1995 Jul;110(1):46-54. doi: 10.1016/S0022-5223(05)80008-X.
• Background Lobato RL, Despotis GJ, Levy JH, Shore-Lesserson LJ, Carlson MO, Bennett-Guerrero E. Anticoagulation management during cardiopulmonary bypass: a survey of 54 North American institutions. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2010 Jun;139(6):1665-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2010.02.038. Epub 2010 Mar 19. No abstract available.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.