Utility of viscoelastic coagulation testing in liver surgery: a systematic review

Eustratia Mpaili, Diamantis I. Tsilimigras, Dimitrios Moris, Fragiska Sigala, Steven M. Frank, Jan Hartmann, Timothy M. Pawlik

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The objective of the current study was to summarize and evaluate all published evidence regarding viscoelastic testing in the field of liver surgery. Methods: A systematic search of the literature was performed using Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library Central, Google Scholar, and clinicaltrials.gov databases. The following keywords were used:“Thromboelastography”, “Thromboelastometry”, “Viscoelastic tests OR testing”, “Sonoclot Devices”, “Point-of-care tests OR testing”, “Coagulation OR Haemostasis OR Hemostasis”, “Liver OR Hepatic Surgery”, “Cirrhosis.” Results: A total of 12 studies analyzing 348 patients who underwent viscoelastic testing of coagulation during liver surgery for benign or malignant diseases were included; 7 (58.3%) studies reported on the use of thromboelastography (TEG), and 5 (41.7%) reported on rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM). Viscoelastic testing (TEG and ROTEM) identified normo-, hyper- and hypo-coagulable status in 77% (n = 268/348), 18.4% (n = 64/348), and 4.6% (n = 16/348) of patients, respectively. In contrast, conventional coagulation tests indicated normo-coagulability in 111 patients (34.2% out of 325) and hypo-coagulability in 214 (65.8% out of 325) patients following liver resection. No patient (0% out of 291) experienced postoperative hemorrhage, whereas 5.8% (n = 17/291) experienced postoperative thromboembolic events. Conclusions: Global viscoelastic testing may be a reasonable adjunct to conventional coagulation testing to provide a more robust assessment of the coagulation status of patients undergoing liver surgery.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)331-343
Number of pages13
JournalHPB
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gastroenterology
  • Hepatology

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