Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia in Patients Suffering Cardiogenic Shock.

OBJECTIVES: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is associated with high mortality. Patients treated for CS mostly require heparin therapy, which may be associated with complications such as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). HIT represents a serious condition associated with platelet decline and increased hypercoagulability and remains a poorly researched field in intensive care medicine. Primary purpose of this study was to: 1) determine HIT prevalence in CS, 2) assess the performance of common diagnostic tests for the workup of HIT, and 3) compare outcomes in CS patients with excluded and confirmed HIT. DESIGN: Retrospective dual-center study including adult patients 18 years old or older with diagnosed CS and suspected HIT from January 2010 to November 2022. SETTING: Cardiac ICU at the Ludwig-Maximilians University hospital in Munich and the university hospital of Bonn. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: In this retrospective analysis, adult patients with diagnosed CS and suspected HIT were included. Differences in baseline characteristics, mortality, neurologic and safety outcomes between patients with excluded and confirmed HIT were evaluated. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In cases of suspected HIT, positive screening antibodies were detected in 159 of 2808 patients (5.7%). HIT was confirmed via positive functional assay in 57 of 2808 patients, corresponding to a prevalence rate of 2.0%. The positive predictive value for anti-platelet factor 4/heparin screening antibodies was 35.8%. Total in-hospital mortality (58.8% vs. 57.9%; p > 0.999), 1-month mortality (47.1% vs. 43.9%; p = 0.781), and 12-month mortality (58.8% vs. 59.6%; p > 0.999) were similar between patients with excluded and confirmed HIT, respectively. Furthermore, no significant difference in neurologic outcome among survivors was found between groups (Cerebral Performance Category [CPC] score 1: 8.8% vs. 8.8%; p > 0.999 and CPC 2: 7.8% vs. 12.3%; p = 0.485). CONCLUSIONS: HIT was a rare complication in CS patients treated with unfractionated heparin and was not associated with increased mortality. Also, HIT confirmation was not associated with worse neurologic outcome in survivors. Future studies should aim at developing more precise, standardized, and cost-effective strategies to diagnose HIT and prevent complications.

The role of coronary artery disease in lung transplantation: a propensity-matched analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Candidate selection for lung transplantation (LuTx) is pivotal to ensure individual patient benefit as well as optimal donor organ allocation. The impact of coronary artery disease (CAD) on post-transplant outcomes remains controversial. We provide comprehensive data on the relevance of CAD for short- and long-term outcomes following LuTx and identify risk factors for mortality. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed all adult patients (≥ 18 years) undergoing primary and isolated LuTx between January 2000 and August 2021 at the LMU University Hospital transplant center. Using 1:1 propensity score matching, 98 corresponding pairs of LuTx patients with and without relevant CAD were identified. RESULTS: Among 1,003 patients having undergone LuTx, 104 (10.4%) had relevant CAD at baseline. There were no significant differences in in-hospital mortality (8.2% vs. 8.2%, p > 0.999) as well as overall survival (HR 0.90, 95%CI [0.61, 1.32], p = 0.800) between matched CAD and non-CAD patients. Similarly, cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction (7.1% CAD vs. 2.0% non-CAD, p = 0.170), revascularization by percutaneous coronary intervention (5.1% vs. 1.0%, p = 0.212), and stroke (2.0% vs. 6.1%, p = 0.279), did not differ statistically between both matched groups. 7.1% in the CAD group and 2.0% in the non-CAD group (p = 0.078) died from cardiovascular causes. Cox regression analysis identified age at transplantation (HR 1.02, 95%CI [1.01, 1.04], p < 0.001), elevated bilirubin (HR 1.33, 95%CI [1.15, 1.54], p < 0.001), obstructive lung disease (HR 1.43, 95%CI [1.01, 2.02], p = 0.041), decreased forced vital capacity (HR 0.99, 95%CI [0.99, 1.00], p = 0.042), necessity of reoperation (HR 3.51, 95%CI [2.97, 4.14], p < 0.001) and early transplantation time (HR 0.97, 95%CI [0.95, 0.99], p = 0.001) as risk factors for all-cause mortality, but not relevant CAD (HR 0.96, 95%CI [0.71, 1.29], p = 0.788). Double lung transplant was associated with lower all-cause mortality (HR 0.65, 95%CI [0.52, 0.80], p < 0.001), but higher in-hospital mortality (OR 2.04, 95%CI [1.04, 4.01], p = 0.039). CONCLUSION: In this cohort, relevant CAD was not associated with worse outcomes and should therefore not be considered a contraindication for LuTx. Nonetheless, cardiovascular events in CAD patients highlight the necessity of control of cardiovascular risk factors and a structured cardiac follow-up.

Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia in Patients Undergoing Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Background: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious, immune-mediated adverse drug reaction to unfractionated heparin (UFH) affecting also patients undergoing venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). Although the association between VA-ECMO support and the development of thrombocytopenia has long been known and discussed, HIT as one underlying cause is still insufficiently understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to further investigate the epidemiology, mortality, diagnosis, and clinical management of HIT occurring in VA-ECMO patients treated with UFH. Methods: We conducted a retrospective single-center study including adult patients (≥18 years) with VA-ECMO support in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) of the University Hospital of Munich (LMU) between January 2013 and May 2022, excluding patients with a known history of HIT upon admission. Differences in baseline characteristics and clinical outcome between excluded HIT (positive anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4)/heparin antibody test but negative functional assay) and confirmed HIT (positive anti-PF4/heparin antibody test and positive functional assay) VA-ECMO patients as well as diagnosis and clinical management of HIT were analysed. Results: Among the 373 patients included, anti-PF4/heparin antibodies were detected in 53/373 (14.2%) patients. Functional HIT testing confirmed HIT in 13 cases (3.5%) and excluded HIT in 40 cases (10.7%), corresponding to a prevalence of confirmed HIT of 13/373 (3.5%) [1.6, 5.3] and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 24.5% for the antibody screening test. The platelet course including platelet recovery following argatroban initiation was similar between all groups. One-month mortality in patients with excluded HIT was 14/40 (35%) and 3-month mortality 17/40 (43%), compared to 5/13 (38%) (p > 0.999), and 6/13 (46%) (p > 0.999) in patients with confirmed HIT. Neurological outcome in both groups measured by the cerebral performance category of survivors on hospital discharge was similar, as well as adverse events during VA-ECMO therapy. Conclusions: With a prevalence of 3.5%, HIT is a non-frequent complication in patients on VA-ECMO and was not associated with a higher mortality rate. HIT was ultimately excluded by functional essay in 75% of VA-ECMO patients with clinical suspicion of HIT and positive anti-PF4/heparin antibody test. Argatroban seems to be an appropriate and safe therapeutic option for confirmed HIT-positive patients on VA-ECMO support.