ABSTRACT
Background: Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) can cause haemostatic abnormalities that increase the risk of postoperative hemorrhage. Objectives: (1) To study changes of coagulation in cardiac patients undergoing surgery with CPB. (2) To research the relationship between duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, coagulation tests and postoperative hemorrhage complications. Subjects and methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out on 252 patients (105 women, 147 men) undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB due to congenital heart disease and acquired heart disease at Viet Duc Hospital from December 2005 to August 2006. Results: After surgery, 54 patients had to transfuse the blood products, accounting for 21.4% rate. 21 cases had abnormal bleeding (8.3%). 12 patients assigned to re-operate due to bleeding (4.8%). There was an inverse correlation between platelet counts after surgery with duration of CPB and duration of aortic clamping. Relationship between rate of prothrombin, APTT, fibrinogen after surgery and duration of CPB and duration of aortic clamping was not seen. Duration of CPB prolonging over 120 minutes related to postoperative hemorrhage complication (OR=2.69 (p<0.5)). Reduced platelet count increased the risk of postoperative hemorrhage but not statistically significant (OR=1.36; p>0.05). Prothrombin ratio of less than 50% associated with the risk of postoperative hemorrhage (OR=4.83; p<0.01). Conclusion: The routine coagulation tests can help monitor clotting in patients after cardiac surgery