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Facing coagulation disorders after acute trauma. Problems/objectives: Trauma is the leading cause of mortality for persons between one and 44 years of age, essentially due to bleeding complications. Methodology: We screened the PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library databases, using specific keywords. Only publications in English were considered. Main results: The pathophysiology of trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) is complex and includes the classic “lethal triad” (i.e., haemodilution, acidosis, hypothermia) but may also include activation of protein C, endothelial and platelet dysfunction, and fibrinogen depletion. The time between trauma and treatment of the resultant massive bleeding should be as short as possible using techniques for rapid control of bleeding and avoiding aggravating factors (hypothermia, metabolic acidosis and hypocalcaemia). If given within three hours of injury, tranexamic acid (TXA) reduces all causes of mortality in trauma patients and reduces transfusion requirements. In a bleeding patient, crystalloids are preferred to colloids and the ratio of fresh frozen plasma to packed red blood cells should be at least 1:2. Damage control surgery (DCS) should be considered for patients who present with, or are at risk for developing, the “lethal triad”, multiple life-threatening injuries or shock, and in mass casualty situations. DCS can also aid in the evaluation of the extent of tissue injuries and the control of haemorrhage and infection. Finally, there is currently no evidence of the added value of laboratory assays in the management of TIC. Conclusions: TIC appears quickly after trauma and should be anticipated and detected as soon as possible. TXA plays a central role in the management of such patients. Each institution should establish a local algorithm for the management of bleeding patients.

The perioperative management of dabigatran is challenging, and recommendations based on activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and thrombin time (TT) are unsatisfactory. Dedicated coagulation tests have limitations at plasma concentrations < 50 ng/ml. Therefore, a more sensitive test, which is available 24/7, is required. It was the aim of this study to investigate the performance of the Hemoclot Thrombin Inhibitors® LOW (HTI LOW) kit, a diluted thrombin time, and the STA® – ECA II (ECA-II) kit, a chromogenic variant of the ecarin clotting time, that were developed to measure low dabigatran concentrations, compared to reference dabigatran analysis by liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This study included 33 plasma samples from patients treated with dabigatran etexilate who had plasma concentrations < 200 ng/ml. HTI LOW and ECA-II were performed along with HTI, aPTT (STA®-C. K.Prest® and SynthasIL ®) and TT (STA® – Thrombin). All procedures were performed according to recommendations by the manufacturers. Linear (or curvilinear) correlations and Bland-Altman analyses were calculated. For free dabigatran concentrations < 50 ng/ml, the R2 of linear correlations were 0.69, 0.84 and 0.61, with HTI, HTI LOW and ECA-II, respectively. The R2 for TT, STA®-C. K.Prest® and SynthasIL® were 0.67, 0.42 and 0.15. For HTI, HTI LOW and ECA-II, Bland-Altman analyses revealed mean differences of –6 ng/ml (95 %CI: –25–14 ng/ml), 1 ng/ml (95 %CI: –18–19 ng/ml) and –1 ng/ml (95 %CI: –25–23 ng/ml), demonstrating that tests dedicated to measuring low concentrations are more accurate than HTI. In conclusion, the use of HTI LOW or ECA-II to assess low plasma dabigatran concentrations is supported by our findings. © 2015 Schattauer.

Plusieurs anticoagulants oraux directs (AOD) sont maintenant largement utilisés dans la prévention et le traitement de la maladie thromboembolique. Contrairement aux antagonistes de la vitamine K, les AOD possèdent une pharmacocinétique et une pharmacodynamique prédictibles. C’est pourquoi, ils sont administrés le plus souvent à dose fixe sans suivi de la coagulation en routine. Cependant, pour certaines sous-populations ou circonstances cliniques, la mesure de l’exposition au médicament peut être utile : suspicion de surdosage, patients présentant un événement hémorragique ou thrombotique en cours de traitement, patients en insuffisance rénale, ou ceux nécessitant une chirurgie urgente. Cet article fournit des lignes de conduite pratiques et résume l’influence des AOD sur les tests classiques de coagulation.

The field of oral anticoagulation has evolved with the arrival of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) including an anti-IIa agent (dabigatran etexilate) and anti-Xa agents (rivaroxaban and apixaban). The main specificities of these drugs are predictable pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics but special attention should be paid in the elderly, in case of renal dysfunction and in case of emergency. In addition, their perioperative management is challenging, especially with the absence of specific antidotes. Effectively, periods of interruption before surgery or invasive procedures depend on half-life and keeping a permanent balance between bleeding and thromboembolic risks. In addition, few data regarding the link between plasma concentrations and their effects are provided. Routine laboratory tests are altered by NOACs and quantitative measurements are not widely performed. This paper provides a review on the management of NOACs in the perioperative setting, including the estimation of the bleeding and thrombotic risk, the periods of interruption, the indication of heparin bridging, the usefulness of laboratory tests before surgery or invasive procedure, and the time of resuming. Most data are based on expert's opinions.

Rigid bronchoscopy under general anesthesia enables performing diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures in the tracheobronchial tree. This technique is characterized by specific technical problems, insofar as the anesthesiologist and the operators share the same space, namely the airway. Several potential complications (hemorrhage inside the airway, threat to ventilation ...) may arise. These challenges render the ability to use the variable available techniques essential, as well as knowledge of the complications they could entail, and the ability to rapidly solve them. General anesthesia is usually total intravenous anesthesia, using short acting agents. Ventilation can be spontaneous, but more often insured using high-frequency jet ventilation. The hospital infrastructure and staff must have the expertise to perform this particular procedure, in order to limit the complication rate.

Dabigatran etexilate (DE), rivaroxaban, and apixaban are nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) that have been compared in clinical trials with existing anticoagulants (warfarin and enoxaparin) in several indications for the prevention and treatment of thrombotic events. All NOACs presented bleeding events despite a careful selection and control of patients. Compared with warfarin, NOACs had a decreased risk of intracranial hemorrhage, and apixaban and DE (110 mg BID) had a decreased risk of major bleeding from any site. Rivaroxaban and DE showed an increased risk of major gastrointestinal bleeding compared with warfarin. Developing strategies to minimize the risk of bleeding is essential, as major bleedings are reported in clinical practice and specific antidotes are currently not available. In this paper, the following preventive approaches are reviewed: improvement of appropriate prescription, identification of modifiable bleeding risk factors, tailoring NOAC's dose, dealing with a missed dose as well as adhesion to switching, bridging and anesthetic procedures.

Objectif : Chez les patients sévèrement dénutris, un support nutritionnel préopératoire permet de réduire l’impact péjoratif de la dénutrition sur l’évolution postopératoire. Un pré-requis indispensable est d’identifier cette dénutrition. Nous avons voulu savoir si la consultation pré-anesthésique (non obligatoire en Belgique) était un outil permettant d’atteindre ces objectifs de dépistage préopératoire chez des patients opérés d’une chirurgie abdominale. Méthode : Notre méthode de travail s’est articulée en trois étapes. Après avoir déterminé notre situation de départ, nous sommes intervenus en insérant le Nutritionnal risk screening (NRS) 2002 dans notre protocole de consultation informatisé et en créant une procédure permettant de coupler notre consultation à celle de diététique le même jour. Nous avons ensuite analysé l’efficacité de nos interventions. Résultats : Nous avons reçu 87,8 % des patients opérés électivement d’une chirurgie abdominale à la consultation pré-anesthésique. Grâce à l’informatisation du NRS 2002, notre dépistage nutritionnel est passé de 60,8 % à 86,1 %. Tout patient à risque de dénutrition a été référé le jour même au service de diététique pour une évaluation nutritionnelle et un support nutritionnel si nécessaire. Cette procédure a réduit au maximum les retours des patients à l’hôpital. Le délai moyen de 13 à 15 jours entre la consultation pré-anesthésique et la chirurgie était suffisant pour mettre en place un support nutritionnel préopératoire. Conclusion : La consultation pré-anesthésique est ainsi devenue un outil de dépistage pour la prise en charge nutritionnelle préopératoire.

PURPOSE: Report a case of a patient, who benefitted from the I-gel, during an elective urological surgery and who presented severe laryngeal hemorrhage at the time of its withdrawal. CLINICAL FEATURES: A 71-year-old male patient had been admitted in the operating room for the insertion of a ureteral stent. He had a history of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) requiring corticosteroids and oxygen therapy and a severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP). After intravenous induction of anesthesia, a size 5 I-gel (Intersurgical, Wokhingam, UK) was easily inserted in the first attempt. Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane. As soon as the procedure ended, the I-Gel was removed. After two minutes, the patient presented a respiratory distress and started spitting significant quantity of blood. Oropharyngeal fiberscopy was performed in emergency and highlighted active bleeding of the left aryepiglottic fold. Hemostasis was obtained by local compression. The patient was transferred to the intensive care unit. He was extubated the following day without complications. No additional procedure was necessary to stop the bleeding. CONCLUSION: Authors reported the first severe complication associated with the use of size 5 I-gel. Additional studies have to be carried out to specify the advantages and risks associated with the use of this recent material.