Activation of coagulation and hyperfibrinolysis in patients with aortic arch atheromatosis (Aortic AA) as a risk factor for cerebral ischemia.

In patients with cerebral ischemia, a frequent finding is atheromatous plaques in the ascending aorta and the aortic arch. Since we were able to demonstrate that patients with atrial fibrillation have an increased coagulatory activity, we wanted to evaluate a potential systemic activation of the coagulatory system in patients with aortic arch atheromatosis (Aortic AA). In 134 consecutive patients, we determined several parameters of the coagulatory and fibrinolytic systems as well as several thrombophilia risk factors and compared the results with 134 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. In 90 of the 134 patients, transesophageal echocardiography showed Aortic AA, and in the remaining 44 patients, there were no aortic findings. The Aortic AA group showed higher concentrations of thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) and plasmin-antiplasmin complexes (PAP). Further division into 4 subgroups of different severity (grade I: no plaques; grade II: plaques 2-5 mm, grade III: plaques > 5 mm, grade IV: mobile plaques), revealed increasing concentrations of fibrinogen, D-dimers and tissue-type plasminogen activator. The grade IV-group displayed the highest values in comparison to all other groups. In conclusion, Aortic AA as such is a risk factor for cerebral ischemia. It causes a systemically detectable activation of coagulation which substantially exceeds the values for controls. This observation is in accordance with our findings in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Comparison of general and spinal anesthesia and their influence on hemostatic markers in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the profile of molecular hemostatic markers in patients receiving either spinal or balanced general anesthesia for total hip arthroplasty. DESIGN: Open, randomized, observational study. SETTING: Orthopedic unit and central laboratory of a university hospital. PATIENTS: 26 consenting ASA physical status II and III inpatients undergoing total hip arthroplasty with general balanced anesthesia (n = 10) or spinal (regional) anesthesia (n = 16). INTERVENTIONS: The time course of seven procoagulatory and fibrinolytic parameters was examined during and after surgery in both groups of patients (general and regional). Blood samples were drawn on the day before surgery, directly before induction of general anesthesia or regional anesthesia, respectively, intraoperatively (before bone manipulation), at the end of surgery, and on the mornings of postoperative days 1 and 5. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The coagulation samples were centrifuged within 1 hour of collection at 2,300 g for 15 minutes at 4 degrees C. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, fibrinogen, prothrombin time, thrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, antithrombin, and protein C were measured immediately on arrival at the laboratory. Specimens were then aliquoted and stored at -70 degrees C. Within 2 weeks, samples were thawed and prepared for the following assays: thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT complexes), D-dimers, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), and plasminogen and plasmin inhibitor. Maximum activation of coagulation was not reached until 2 hours postoperatively and then slowly decreased until normal values were reached around the fifth postoperative day. Parameters displaying the greatest changes were antithrombin and D-dimers. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups at the individual time points. CONCLUSION: Our initial hypothesis that the lesser risk of postoperative DVT in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty in regional anesthesia is reflected in the course of the plasmatic molecular markers of hemostasis could not be verified. There were no significant differences in the timely course of the markers at any given time point.