Thrombelastography (TEG® 6s) early amplitudes predict maximum amplitude in severely injured trauma patients

Martin Vigstedt, Kjersti Baksaas-Aasen, Hanne H. Henriksen, Marc Maegele, Simon Stanworth, Nicole P. Juffermans, Knut M. Kolstadbråten, P. l A. Naess, Karim Brohi, Christine Gaarder, Jakob Stensballe, P. r I. Johansson

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/Letter to the editorAcademic

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Severely injured trauma patients are often coagulopathic and early hemostatic resuscitation is essential. Previous studies have revealed linear relationships between thrombelastography (TEG®) five- and ten-min amplitudes (A5 and A10), and maximum amplitude (MA), using TEG® 5000 technology. We aimed to investigate the performance of A5 and A10 in predicting low MA in severely injured trauma patients and identify optimal cut-off values for hemostatic intervention based on early amplitudes, using the cartridge-based TEG® 6s technology. Adult trauma patients with hemorrhagic shock were included in the iTACTIC randomized controlled trial at six European Level I trauma centers between 2016 and 2018. After admission, patients were randomized to hemostatic therapy guided by conventional coagulation tests (CCT) or viscoelastic hemostatic assays (VHA). Patients with available admission-TEG® 6s data were included in the analysis, regardless of treatment allocation. Low MA was defined as <55 mm for Kaolin TEG® and RapidTEG®, and <17 mm for TEG® functional fibrinogen (FF). One hundred eighty-seven patients were included. Median time to MA was 20 (Kaolin TEG®), 21 (RapidTEG®) and 12 (TEG® FF) min. For Kaolin TEG®, the optimal Youden index (YI) was at A5 < 36 mm (100/93% sensitivity/specificity) and A10 < 47 mm (100/96% sensitivity/specificity). RapidTEG® optimal YI was at A5 < 34 mm (98/92% sensitivity/specificity) and A10 < 45 mm (96/95% sensitivity/specificity). TEG® FF optimal YI was at A5 < 12 mm (97/93% sensitivity/specificity) and A10 < 15 mm (97/99% sensitivity/specificity). In summary, we found that TEG® 6s early amplitudes were sensitive and specific predictors of MA in severely injured trauma patients. Intervening on early amplitudes can save valuable time in hemostatic resuscitation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)508-512
Number of pages5
JournalScandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation
Volume82
Issue number6
Early online date2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Blood coagulation
  • hemostasis
  • shock
  • thrombelastography
  • trauma

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