Platelets and fibrinogen matter when bleeding on ECMO.

This document is a comment on a study conducted by Helms et al. on bleeding complications in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The study found that an increase in D-dimer levels was significantly associated with bleeding, while anticoagulation or low platelet count were not. However, the comment presents data from another study that contradicts these findings, showing that low platelet count, low platelet aggregation, and low plasma fibrinogen were associated with bleeding in ECMO patients. The comment suggests that hyperfibrinolysis may contribute to bleeding risk during ECMO treatment, but further investigation is needed. [Extracted from the article]