Royal Victoria Hospital Researcher Discusses Findings in Heparin Therapy (225 The Use of Activated Clotting Time and Prothrombin Time to Predict the Heparin Dose in Paediatric Cardiac Patients on Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation...).

A recent study conducted at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, United Kingdom, explored the use of activated clotting time (ACT) and prothrombin time (PT) to predict the appropriate dose of heparin in pediatric cardiac patients on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) circuits. The researchers found that an ACT between 146-165 was sufficient for anticoagulation, and there was a significant difference in ACT levels between patients who required re-exploration due to bleeding and those who did not. However, platelet levels did not show a significant difference between the two groups. The study suggests that using a regression equation to predict heparin dose based on ACT and PT could help reduce postoperative complications in pediatric patients on ECMO. [Extracted from the article]