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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2004;128:211-219
© 2004 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery
Cardiopulmonary support and physiology |
a Department of Surgery, McMaster University, and the Henderson Research Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
b Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, and the Henderson Research Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
c Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, and the Henderson Research Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
d Department of Medicine, McMaster University, and the Henderson Research Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Received for publication August 7, 2003; revisions received December 3, 2003; accepted for publication December 11, 2003.
* Address for reprints: Edward Young, PhD, Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program, Henderson General Hospital Site, 711 Concession Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8V 1C3
younged{at}hhsc.ca
| Abstract |
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METHODS: Three hundred patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were randomized to receive either a continuous infusion of protamine sulphate (25 mg/h for 6 hours) postoperatively or saline placebo. Serial blood samples were obtained to measure thrombin clotting time and anti-factor Xa activity. Heparin bound nonspecifically to plasma proteins was measured after displacement with a chemically altered heparin with low affinity to antithrombin. Mediastinal blood loss and transfusion requirements were recorded.
RESULTS: Heparin rebound was demonstrated in every patient in the placebo group as reflected by increased thrombin clotting time, anti-factor Xa activity, and protein-bound heparin between 1 and 6 hours after surgery. In contrast, heparin rebound was eliminated in the protamine infusion group. The thrombin clotting time was normalized and both heparin concentration and protein-bound heparin were almost undetectable (P < .001). There was a modest 13% reduction in postoperative bleeding but this did not reduce blood transfusions. No adverse events were attributable to the extra protamine.
CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative protamine infusion was able to almost totally abolish heparin rebound. In the context of this study, protamine infusion resulted in reduced postoperative bleeding but the magnitude was insufficient to alter transfusion requirements.
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Cardiopulmonary bypass is an integral component of cardiac surgery. Patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery who have significant bleeding after cardiac surgery are at risk of increased mortality and morbidity. Protamine sulphate is administered after cardiopulmonary bypass to neutralize the anticoagulant effect of heparin, thereby establishing normal hemostasis after surgery. Hyun and associates1 described the reappearance of hypocoagulability after adequate neutralization of heparin and coined the phrase "heparin rebound" to describe this phenomenon. Gollub2 noted that the prolongation of clotting times postoperatively after initial neutralization could be shortened by the administration of additional protamine and concluded that the phenomenon was caused by reappearance of heparin in the circulating blood. The reported incidence of heparin rebound varies widely and has been reported to be as high as 50%.3
The anticoagulant activity of heparin is mediated by its binding through a specific pentasaccharide to antithrombin (AT), which results in a marked accceleration of the rate at which AT inactivates thrombin, factor Xa, and other serine proteases in the coagulation cascade.4 Heparin also binds nonspecifically and independently of the pentasaccharide to other plasma proteins, platelet-derived proteins, and tissue and cellular sites.5,6
We developed a probe that displaces heparin from plasma proteins, which allows us to determine the role of heparin-binding proteins in the mechanism of heparin rebound. We have prepared a heparin with virtually no affinity to AT by chemical modification.7 When added in excess to plasma, this low-affinity heparin is able to displace anticoagulantly active heparin from plasma proteins, which is then measured in an anti-factor Xa heparin assay.8 In a previous study,9 we employed this low-affinity heparin to study heparin rebound in 16 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. After neutralization with protamine sulphate the activated clotting time returned to baseline values. However, heparin activity measured as anti-factor Xa activity was consistently elevated for the first 6 hours postoperatively. Anti-factor Xa activity after the addition of low-affinity heparin to displace protein-bound heparin was measurable in all patients and was 3- to 4-fold greater, indicating that a pool of heparin remained in the circulation for a number of hours postoperatively despite reversal with protamine sulphate. Postoperative blood loss correlated with postoperative heparin anticoagulant activity, suggesting that the heparin that remained after protamine sulphate neutralization was sufficient to impair hemostasis and promote postoperative hemorrhage.
Excessive postoperative hemorrhage continues to complicate cardiac surgery. Bleeding is caused by a combination of incomplete surgical hemostasis and an acquired hemostatic defect.10 The nature of the acquired hemostatic defect has been the subject of considerable controversy. The contribution of heparin rebound to postoperative bleeding has not been elucidated. Our studies have provided a plausible explanation for the mechanism for heparin rebound and have suggested a strategy for its elimination. One approach to reduce postoperative bleeding would be to use a continuous infusion of protamine after surgery to inactivate the heparin that dissociates from cellular and protein binding sites. The adverse cardiovascular effects of protamine11 should be minimal if the protamine is infused at a slow rate. The aim of the present study was to determine whether heparin rebound can be eliminated by additional treatment with protamine sulphate for 6 hours postoperatively and whether this protocol can result in the reduction in postoperative bleeding.
| Methods |
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Heparin and protamine management
Heparin (Hepalean; Organon Teknika, Toronto, Canada) was given at an initial dose of 400 U/kg to achieve an activated clotting time (ACT) greater than 400 seconds. Cardiopulmonary bypass was instituted with an ascending aortic cannula and a 2-stage right atrial cannula in most patients. The pump circuit employed a semi-porous membrane oxygenator and was primed with Ringer's lactate solution. Moderate systemic hypothermia (28°C-32°C) was maintained during the aortic crossclamp period. After discontinuation of cardiopulmonary bypass, heparin was reversed with a bolus of protamine sulphate using the heparin-ACT dose-response curve method to determine the dosage of protamine. Additional small doses of protamine were administered in some patients to return the ACT to preheparin values. The infusion of the test solution was initiated within 15 minutes of protamine reversal.
Postoperative management
Patients enrolled in the study followed standardized guidelines for volume replacement and blood transfusions. The pulmonary capillary wedge pressure was maintained at appropriate levels by infusions of albumin or crystalloid. Hemoglobin concentrations were obtained at 1, 3, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Packed red cells were transfused to maintain the hemoglobin between 80 and 90 g/L. Blood loss through the mediastinal tubes was measured and reinfused into the patient for up to 12 hours postoperatively. Aliquots of the drainage fluid were taken for hematocrit determinations using standard techniques. Clinically significant coagulation defects were treated by infusions of protamine, fresh-frozen plasma, or platelets when chest tube drainage fluid exceeded 150 mL/h. We employed the following guidelines for clinically significant defects: for extra protamine, thrombin clotting times (TcT, 2 units) > 35 seconds; for plasma, an international normalized ratio > 1.5; and for platelets, a count of <80,000. Pharmacological agents such as aprotinin, aminocaproic acid, and desmopressin were not employed in the patients.
Anticoagulant assays
A baseline blood sample was collected from the radial arterial line prior to heparin administration. Timed blood samples were obtained hourly between 1 and 6 hours and at 12, 18, and 24 hours after protamine reversal also through the radial arterial line. Blood was collected into tubes containing buffered sodium citrate (Vacutainer, Becton Dickinson, Mississauga, Canada). Platelet-poor plasma (PPP) was prepared by centrifugation at 2000g at room temperature for 15 minutes. The PPP was stored in polypropylene tubes at 70°C until used.
Heparin concentrations were measured as anti-factor Xa activity based on the method of Teien and Lie.12 The Stachrom heparin kit from Diagnostica Stago (Wellmark Diagnostics, Guelph, Canada) was modified for use on the Cobas Bio centrifugal analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Etobicoke, Canada). Pooled PPP to which known concentrations of unfractionated heparin (Hepalean, Organon Teknika) were added were used as standards. TcTs (2 units) were performed on the LaBor Coa System (Fisher Scientific, Toronto, Canada) using bovine thrombin (Thrombostat; Parke-Davis, Scarborough, Canada). All anticoagulant assays were performed in duplicate.
Low-affinity heparin was used as a probe to determine the extent to which anticoagulantly active heparin binds to plasma proteins other than AT. Low-affinity heparin was prepared from unfractionated porcine mucosal heparin (178 IU/mg, Sigma Chemical Co, St Louis, Mo) by periodate oxidation and borohydride reduction according to the method of Casu and colleagues13 with minor modifications.7 This chemical modification destroys the ability of unfractionated heparin to bind to AT but preserves the molecular size range and charge density of the parent molecule. The low-affinity heparin measured <1.0 U/mg of anti-factor Xa activity. Excess low-affinity heparin was added to PPP at a concentration of 45 ug/mL to displace anticoagulantly active heparin from plasma protein binding sites8 and the anti-factor Xa activity was measured again. This in vitro assay may not reflect the amount of heparin bound to endothelium in vivo.
Statistics
Chi-square analysis was used to analyze categorical data. An independent 2-sample t test was employed to analyze continuous data. Results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation unless otherwise indicated.
| Results |
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There were no adverse events attributable to the extra protamine administered postoperatively over 6 hours. No important differences were detected in the rate of reoperation, myocardial infarction, or mortality between the two groups. However, the number of patients requiring small amounts of protamine to control excessive bleeding was higher in the placebo group (Table 2). Most patients received 25 to 50 mg of protamine.
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| Discussion |
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The reappearance of anticoagulant activity in the saline placebo group was indicated by the prolongation of the TcT. The anticoagulant effect was due to heparin because of its effect on anti-factor Xa activity. There was also considerable heparin bound nonspecifically to plasma proteins other than AT. This proportion of protein-bound heparin was unmasked by using low-affinity heparin to displace anticoagulantly active heparin from protein-binding sites.7-9 Some of these heparin-binding proteins are acute phase proteins. A number of acute phase reactants including fibronectin,15 vitronectin,16 and von Willebrand factor17 are known to bind heparin. Cardiopulmonary surgery is an inflammatory condition that can stimulate the synthesis of acute phase proteins that could contribute to increased protein binding.18
In contrast, the postoperative infusion of protamine (25 mg/h for 6 hours) was able to eliminate heparin rebound almost completely. The TcTs fell to within normal reference intervals (20-30 seconds). The heparin concentrations measured as anti-factor Xa activity were virtually undetectable and the amount of protein-bound heparin was also dramatically lower in the protamine group. The infusion of small amounts of protamine did not lead to an increase in adverse outcomes.
Unexpectedly, following the termination of the protamine infusion, there was a small but detectable reappearance of anticoagulant activity between 9 and 18 hours. This was reflected by increased TcTs, heparin concentration, and protein-bound heparin. It is possible that the extra protamine administered was insufficient to neutralize all the heparin from plasma protein and tissue binding sites because the infusion was terminated prematurely. The pharmacokinetic half-life of protamine is very short (approximately 5 minutes),19 and protamine may no longer be present to bind heparin after it is slowly released from non-AT binding sites. Second, heparin has been shown to bind to endothelial cells.20,21 A proportion of the bound molecules are internalized and depolymerized into smaller molecular size fragments. Some of the internalized heparin is then secreted in depolymerized form.22,23 The persistence of anti-factor Xa activity for several weeks following low-molecular-weight heparin treatment has been described.24 The liver and kidneys were implicated as the tissues that sequester some of the injected drug, which gives rise to anticoagulantly active material by degradation and secretion into the plasma. This tissue reservoir may be inaccessible to protamine. Another factor may be the inability of protamine to completely neutralize low-molecular-weight heparin.25 These reasons may help to explain the reappearance of anticoagulant activity once the protamine infusion was stopped. The increase in anticoagulant activity, however, did not increase postoperative bleeding.
The extra protamine administered decreased postoperative bleeding although the magnitude of the reduction was rather modest. The reduced bleeding did not translate into decreased transfusion requirements. Excessive postoperative bleeding after coronary artery bypass surgery is thought to be a multifactorial process. In addition to heparin rebound, hyperfibrinolysis26,27 and an acquired platelet defect10 are considered to be the main contributors to postoperative bleeding. Antifibrinolytic agents have been employed to reduce postoperative bleeding. These include the protease inhibitor aprotinin and transexamic acid or its analog, epsilon-aminocaproic acid.28,29 These drugs have been shown to reduce bleeding by approximately 30% to 40% and to reduce allogeneic blood transfusion by a similar amount.30 In comparison, our strategy of employing extra protamine to eliminate heparin rebound resulted in only a 13% reduction in bleeding with no change in transfusion requirements. Our results suggest that heparin rebound is a minor contributor to postoperative bleeding and that activation of the fibrinolytic system plays a greater role.
A potential weakness of our study was that extra protamine (25-50 mg) was given postoperatively to treat clinically significant bleeding in both groups. This cointervention, the extra protamine, was administered concurrently as required along with the blinded study drug. That explains why the placebo group got more protamine for this purpose because they received saline only. We could not ethically withhold extra protamine to correct coagulation defects. This may potentially diminish the observed differences in outcomes between the 2 groups. If the unavoidable cointervention had not occurred, the outcome of the study may have been different.
In summary, we have demonstrated that heparin rebound can be virtually eliminated by giving extra protamine for 6 hours during the postoperative period. The procedure is inexpensive. The elimination of heparin rebound led to a statistically significant reduction in postoperative bleeding but the amount of the reduction was modest and did not reduce blood transfusions. The protamine infusion reduces bleeding and appears to be safe although there is insufficient data in the study to rule out uncommon drug-related adverse events. Additional protamine is helpful in the setting of excessive bleeding with evidence of heparin rebound and may be beneficial when used routinely following cardiopulmonary bypass.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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| References |
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-granule release. Blood. 1980;56:824834This article has been cited by other articles:
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