Acute Presentation of Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve Thrombosis in a Patient on Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation.

The management of patients presenting with bioprosthetic valve thrombosis presents a major clinical challenge from a diagnostic and management standpoint. This patient population becomes especially challenging to manage when presenting with cardiogenic shock and additional risks for bleeding. In this clinical conference, the authors present the case of a 64-year-old male who developed intraoperative bioprosthetic mitral valve thrombosis and cardiogenic shock necessitating support with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The discussion focuses on the diagnostic challenges with transesophageal echocardiography and the difficulty in determining the proper approach to systemic anticoagulation.

Intraoperative Administration of 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate Reduces Blood Requirements in Cardiac Transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: Assessing the efficacy of intraoperative 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4F-PCC) use in blood product utilization, time to chest closure, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay (LOS), thromboembolic complications, renal injury and mortality in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients on home anticoagulation therapy with warfarin, undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of OHT patients at Tufts Medical Center from May 2013 to October 2016. SETTING: Single-institution, university hospital setting. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with preexisting LVADs who received orthotopic heart transplants (n = 74; 32 patients 4F-PCC, 42 patients no 4F-PCC). INTERVENTIONS: Warfarin reversal using 4F-PCC in patients with LVADs undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation with the 4F-PCC dosing partitioned such that one-third was given pre-CPB and two-thirds were given post-CPB. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The 4F-PCC group required less plasma (6 [IQR 4] v 1.31 [IQR 2] U, p < 0.001), cryoprecipitate (10 [IQR 10] v 7.50 [IQR 5] U, p < 0.001), and packed red blood cells (5 [IQR 4] v 2 [IQR 1.5] U, p < 0.001) and had a shorter time to chest closure (618.8 ± 111.4 v 547.9 ± 110.1 minutes, p = 0.008). There was no difference in platelet transfusion (2 [IQR 1] v 2 [IQR 1] U, p = 0.16), ICU or hospital LOS, acute kidney injury, or mortality. No thrombotic complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Replacing plasma with 4F-PCC to reverse preoperative warfarin anticoagulation during OHT was associated with a shorter time to chest closure and less blood product utilization, without an increase in acute kidney injury, thromboembolic complications, or death.