Pre-existing hypercoagulability in patients undergoing potentially curative cancer resection.

BACKGROUND: Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) is a new point-of-care test that allows a rapid and comprehensive evaluation of coagulation. We were among the first to show that ROTEM identifies baseline hypercoagulability in 40% of patients with intra-abdominal malignancies and that hypercoagulability persists for ≥1 month after resection. The purpose of this follow-up study was to confirm and extend these observations to a larger population in outpatient preoperative clinics. The hypothesis is that pre-existing hypercoagulability is present in patients undergoing surgery for malignant disease and that coagulation status varies by tumor type. METHODS: After informed consent, preoperative blood samples were drawn from patients undergoing exploratory laparotomies for intra-abdominal malignancies and analyzed with ROTEM. RESULTS: Eighty-two patients were enrolled, including 72 with a confirmed pathologic diagnosis and 10 age-matched controls with benign disease. The most common cancers involved the pancreas (n = 23; 32%), esophagus (n = 19; 26%), liver (n = 12; 17%), stomach (n = 7; 10%), and bile ducts (n = 5; 7%). Preoperative hypercoagulability was detected in 31% (n = 22); these patients were more likely to have lymphovascular invasion (88% vs 50%; P = .011), perineural invasion (77% vs 36%; P = .007), and stage III/IV disease (80% vs 62%; P = .039). More patients with pancreatic tumors (9/23, 39%) were hypercoagulable than with esophageal (3/19, 16%) or liver (2/13, 15%, P = .034) tumors. When only resectable malignancies were considered, clot formation was more rapid (low clot formation time, high alpha) with enhanced maximum clot strength (high maximum clot firmness) in pancreatic versus esophageal or liver cancers and in all cancers versus those with benign disease. CONCLUSION: Preoperative hypercoagulability can be identified with ROTEM and is associated with lymphovascular/perineural invasion and advanced-staged disease in cancer. Compared with other tumor types, pancreatic adenocarcinomas have the greatest risk for hypercoagulability.

Repeat head computed tomography after minimal brain injury identifies the need for craniotomy in the absence of neurologic change.

BACKGROUND: In this era of cost containment, the value of routine repeat head computed tomography (CT) in patients with mild TBI (mTBI) and no interval neurologic change has been challenged. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that routine repeat head CT provides critical information after mTBI even with no neurologic change. METHODS: From January 1996 to May 2010, records from all patients admitted to our Level I trauma center with an arrival Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 13 to 15 and at least one head CT were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: In 360 patients with mTBI and positive initial head CT finding, the most common abnormalities were subarachnoid hemorrhage (64%), intraparenchymal hemorrhage (57%), and subdural hemorrhage (40%). Scans were repeated in 8 ± 6 hours; 11% were recalled, 59% remained stable, but 30% showed injury progression. Those patients with worsening repeat head CT finding had higher Injury Severity Score (ISS), were more likely to be intubated and require craniotomy, had longer stay, and had higher mortality (all p < 0.001). On multiple logistic regression, altered GCS score (odds ratio, 3.1-4.0), ISS (odds ratio, 1.1), and presence of mass effect (odds ratio, 2.0) were independently associated with worsening repeat head CT finding. In patients receiving a neurosurgical operative intervention, 32% to 59% had no clinical decline before the worsening repeat CT finding. CONCLUSION: After mTBI, worsening of repeat head CT finding is seen in a third of patients and is associated with worse outcomes. A substantial fraction of patients who require operative intervention will have no clinical changes in the first 8 hours, supporting the value of repeat head CT within this time frame. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Care management study, level III.

Persistence of hypercoagulable state after resection of intra-abdominal malignancies.

BACKGROUND: The hypercoagulable state associated with cancer imparts considerable risk for venous thromboembolism. Surgical resection of malignancies should theoretically reverse tumor-induced hypercoagulability. However, coagulation changes in cancer patients postresection have not been described thoroughly. Conventional coagulation tests are unable to detect hypercoagulable states. In contrast, rotational thromboelastography (ROTEM) can detect hypo- or hypercoagulable conditions. We hypothesized that the cancer-induced hypercoagulable state would improve after surgical resection. METHODS: After informed consent, blood samples of patients undergoing surgical resection for curative intent were analyzed with serial ROTEM. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients (mean ± SD age 66 ± 17 years; 67% male) had cancers involving the pancreas (n = 12 [34%]), esophagus (n = 10 [29%]), stomach (n = 7 [20%]), bile ducts (n = 3 [9%]), and duodenum (n = 3 [9%]). Preoperative ROTEM identified 14 (40%) who were hypercoagulable. After surgical resection, patients became progressively hypercoagulable with more rapid clot formation time (low clot formation time, high alpha) and higher maximum clot firmness. By week one, 86% (n = 30) had abnormal ROTEM values, including 17 of 21 (81%) who had normal coagulation profiles preoperatively. Most (n = 30 [86%]) remained hypercoagulable at 3 to 4 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Rotational thromboelastography identifies baseline hypercoagulability in more than one third of patients with intra-abdominal malignancies. This is among the first studies to demonstrate progressive hypercoagulability that persists for at least 1 month after resection. These data support postdischarge thromboprophylaxis regimens in high-risk cancer patients.

Impact of definitions on trauma center mortality rates and performance.

BACKGROUND: Trauma center performance depends on quality metrics, such as mortality rates, but there have been few studies on how an exact definition of death can influence these statistics. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the mortality rate at one trauma center could be influenced by the interpretation of "dead on arrival." Personal communication suggests that this definition is applied variably throughout our state. METHODS: All deaths at our Level I trauma center from January 2009 to April 2011 were reviewed. RESULTS: There were 11,121 trauma admissions, predominantly male (75%), with mean +/- SD of 39 +/- 20, 72% blunt, 22% penetrating, and 7% burn injuries. There were 661 deaths, of which 582 were "hospital deaths" and an additional 79 were classified as "dead on arrival," defined as patients arriving with no vital signs and receiving no hospital intervention. However, 23% (n = 136) of the hospital deaths also arrived with no vital signs but received some lifesaving intervention, for example, tube thoracostomy (n = 95, 70%), thoracotomy (n = 48, 35%), and/or central venous catheter (n = 21, 15%). The state-reported mortality rate each month was 5.3 +/- 1.4%. If those who arrived with no vital signs were excluded, the mortality rate each month was 4.0 +/- 1.2% (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: At this trauma center, approximately one fourth of the deaths reported to the state were patients who arrived with no vital signs. If any lifesaving intervention is attempted in these moribund patients, even if it is futile, it is termed "hospital death," rather than "dead on arrival." State regulations exclude patients who received any intervention from being classified as dead on arrival, but compliance with this definition is not audited. Therefore, unless there is strict compliance and standardized definitions, any comparison of trauma center quality based on mortality could be questioned. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Epidemiologic study, level III.

Venous thromboembolism after trauma: a never event?*.

OBJECTIVE: Rates of venous thromboembolism as high as 58% have been reported after trauma, but there is no widely accepted screening protocol. If Medicare adds venous thromboembolism to the list of "preventable complications," they will no longer reimburse for treatment, which could have devastating effects on many urban centers. We hypothesized that prescreening with a risk assessment profile followed by routine surveillance with venous duplex ultrasound that could identify asymptomatic venous thromboembolism in trauma patients. DESIGN: Prospective, observational trial with waiver of consent. SETTING: Level I trauma center intensive care unit. PATIENTS: At admission, 534 patients were prescreened with a risk assessment profile. INTERVENTIONS: Patients (n = 106) with risk assessment profile scores >10 were considered high risk and received routine screening venous duplex ultrasound within 24 hrs and weekly thereafter. RESULTS: In prescreened high-risk patients, 20 asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis were detected with venous duplex ultrasound (19%). An additional ten venous thromboembolisms occurred, including six symptomatic deep vein thrombosis and four pulmonary emboli, resulting in an overall venous thromboembolism rate of 28%. The most common risk factors discriminating venous thromboembolism vs. no venous thromboembolism were femoral central venous catheter (23% vs. 8%), operative intervention >2 hrs (77% vs. 46%), complex lower extremity fracture (53% vs. 32%), and pelvic fracture (70% vs. 47%), respectively (all p < .05). Risk assessment profile scores were higher in patients with venous thromboembolism (19 ± 6 vs. 14 ± 4, p = .001). Risk assessment profile score (odds ratio 1.14) and the combination of pelvic fracture requiring operative intervention >2 hrs (odds ratio 5.75) were independent predictors for development of venous thromboembolism. The rates of venous thromboembolism for no chemical prophylaxis (33%), unfractionated heparin (29%), dalteparin (40%), or inferior vena cava filters (20%) were not statistically different (p = .764). CONCLUSIONS: Medicare's inclusion of venous thromboembolism after trauma as a "never event" should be questioned. In trauma patients, high-risk assessment profile score and pelvic fracture with prolonged operative intervention are independent predictors for venous thromboembolism development, despite thromboprophylaxis. Although routine venous duplex ultrasound screening may not be cost-effective for all trauma patients, prescreening using risk assessment profile yielded a cohort of patients with a high prevalence of venous thromboembolism. In such high-risk patients, routine venous duplex ultrasound and/or more aggressive prophylactic regimens may be beneficial.