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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006;131:533-539
© 2006 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery
Surgery for Acquired Cardiovascular Disease |
Gaston Memorial Hospital, Gastonia, NC
Received for publication June 17, 2005; revisions received October 6, 2005; accepted for publication October 20, 2005. * Address for reprints: Cornelius M. Dyke, MD, Carolina Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Associates, Gaston Memorial Hospital, 2555 Court Drive, Suite 200, Gastonia, NC, 28056 (Email: dykec{at}gmh.org).
| Abstract |
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METHODS: We conducted a randomized, open-label, multicenter trial comparing heparin with protamine reversal to bivalirudin in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The primary objective was to demonstrate comparable rates of in-hospital procedural success defined as freedom from death, Q-wave myocardial infarction, stroke, or repeat revascularization. Twenty-one institutions enrolled 101 patients randomized to bivalirudin and 49 patients to heparin treatment.
RESULTS: The primary end point of procedural success was not significantly different between the bivalirudin arm and the heparin/protamine arms at 7 days, 30 days, or 12 weeks' follow-up. Adequate anticoagulation was achieved in all patients. Secondary end points including mortality, 24-hour blood loss, overall incidence of transfusions, and duration of surgery were similar between the two arms.
CONCLUSIONS: Bivalirudin is a safe and effective anticoagulant for patients undergoing a wide range of cardiac surgical procedures with cardiopulmonary bypass. Procedural success rates with bivalirudin were similar to rates in patients receiving heparin anticoagulation, with no difference in mortality. Avoidance of blood stasis and attention to the intraoperative medical management of patients is critical for successful use of bivalirudin during cardiopulmonary bypass.
| Introduction |
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Bivalirudin is a bivalent, reversible direct thrombin inhibitor with a relatively short half-life and is eliminated mainly by a proteolytic mechanism independent of renal or hepatic function. In several large trials, bivalirudin has been successfully used as a replacement for heparin during percutaneous coronary intervention.
9-11
During "off-pump" coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, the use of bivalirudin was associated with a comparable safety profile but improved graft patency rates compared with heparin and protamine reversal.
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Moreover, in a prior pilot investigation in patients undergoing elective on-pump CABG surgery, the feasibility of bivalirudin for anticoagulation during CPB has been established.
13
Bivalirudin, a 20 amino acid peptide with little secondary structure, appears to be nonimmunogenic.
3,14,15
The EValuation of Patients during Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Operation: Linking UTilization of Bivalirudin to Improved Outcomes and New Anticoagulant Strategies (EVOLUTION-ON) trial was designed as a safety study to compare systemic anticoagulation with bivalirudin to UFH with protamine reversal in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB. The study is a component of a larger program investigating the use of bivalirudin in patients undergoing on-pump and off-pump cardiac surgery, including those with HIT/TS or at risk for HIT/TS.
| Methods |
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30 mL/min) were allowed. Patients recently exposed to preoperative anticoagulant medications including glycoprotein IIb/IIa receptor antagonists, adenosine diphosphate receptor antagonists, low-molecular-weight heparins, or thrombolytics were excluded. The study was approved by the institutional review board at each site. Informed consent was obtained from 150 patients at 21 sites in the United States and Germany. A computerized telephone system was used to randomize patients to bivalirudin versus heparin/protamine with a 2:1 ratio; 101 patients were randomized to bivalirudin and 49 patients to heparin/protamine. Three patients dropped out of the bivalirudin arm after randomization but before surgery and were reassigned to receive heparin. Accordingly, 98 patients received bivalirudin and 52 patients received heparin as the sole anticoagulant during cardiac surgery with CPB. Data and summary statistics are presented on the basis of this safety population.
Clinical End Points
The primary end point of the study was in-hospital procedural success, defined as the absence of death, Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or repeat coronary revascularization. Secondary end points included nonQ-wave MI, transfusion requirements, major bleeding, thromboembolic events, change in renal function, and anticoagulation profile. NonQ-wave MI was defined as creatine kinase MB elevation 10 times or greater than the local upper limit of normal if within 24 hours after surgery. If more than 24 hours after cardiac surgery, the definition was creatine kinase MB elevation greater than the upper limit of normal on 2 successive samples, or creatine kinase MB greater than 2 times the upper limit of normal on 1 occasion; and either ischemic symptoms or electrocardiographic changes indicative of ischemia. Adjudicated data from an independent and blinded clinical events committee are used in all statistical analyses. Major bleeding was defined as any intracranial or intraocular bleed, retroperitoneal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, or persistent hemorrhage necessitating re-exploration.
Dosing and Monitoring of Anticoagulation
For patients randomized to heparin/protamine, individual institutional practices regarding dosing and protamine reversal were used. A summary of heparin and protamine doses are provided in Table 1.
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Anticoagulation was monitored at baseline, within 5 minutes of drug administration, and thereafter according to standard institutional practice regarding the type and frequency. For patients receiving bivalirudin, an initial activated clotting time (ACT) 2.5 times the baseline was used as a guideline, based on the clotting test routinely used by the institution. Additional bolus dosing was left to the discretion of the surgeon and anesthesiologist.
Statistical Analysis
The study was designed to evaluate the safety of bivalirudin as an anticoagulant for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Data were collected by The Medicines Company (Parsippany, NJ). Authors had full access to all data and were responsible for its interpretation, with approval rights over publication. All analyses were performed primarily on the "as-treated" (safety) population, defined as patients categorized according to the anticoagulant received, irrespective of randomization. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize most of the data. Quantitative (continuous) variables were summarized by mean, standard deviation, median, interquartile range, and minimum and maximum values. Qualitative (categorical) variables were summarized by frequencies and percentages. Owing to the small number of patients in each group, exploratory nonparametric tests (Fisher exact test for categorical variables, Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables) were used to calculate P values.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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Although the incidence of MI between groups did not reach statistical significance, numerically fewer nonQ-wave MIs were present in patients receiving bivalirudin. Recent data have demonstrated that the magnitude of biomarker release after surgery correlates with outcomes and are more predictive of serious adverse outcomes than the presence of new Q waves.
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Additionally, heparin directly activates platelets
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and potentiates platelet activation, which may be problematic in patients with acute coronary syndromes requiring surgery.
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Whether the more predictable thrombin inhibition afforded by bivalirudin results in less myocardial injury during CABG with CPB requires further investigation.
Anticoagulation with bivalirudin was predictable and consistent. The reliable pharmacokinetic profile of bivalirudin was exemplified by the low number of patients requiring reloading or adjustment of infusion during CPB, and no patient in either group had difficulties with clot formation within the oxygenator or arterial side of the pump circuitry. In areas of stasis or in areas isolated from the circuit, bivalirudin levels may be depleted owing to metabolism by thrombin. Efforts to reduce stasis within the venous reservoir (such as the use of a closed system or temporary blood storage within citrate-phosphate-dextrose bags) can be effective strategies to assure adequate levels of bivalirudin and prevent clot formation. The use of bivalirudin as an anticoagulant in the cell salvage device has not been evaluated.
The choice of ACT instrument and type of test was left to the institution and included Hemochron ACT kaolin (ITC, a subsidiary of Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, Calif), ecarin clotting time, ACT+, and ACT-T. All ACT tests used appeared to be effective tools for monitoring anticoagulation with bivalirudin. The initial bivalirudin bolus resulted in rapid prolongation of the ACT, which was maintained throughout the duration of CPB without the need for significant dose adjustment. This ability to successfully provide anticoagulation for patients with minimal variability allows for weight-based dosing with bivalirudin, in contrast to heparin. The ACT declined more rapidly after heparin reversal with protamine than with bivalirudin, as the majority of clearance of bivalirudin is through proteolytic cleavage. However, this did not adversely affect the duration of surgery (a difference of 8.5 minutes), and the median duration from the end of CPB to the end of surgery was also only 9.5 minutes longer in patients with bivalirudin anticoagulation. This was somewhat surprising, as more rapid hemostasis might be expected with heparin, given its immediate reversibility with protamine. The similar chest closure time may reflect the short half-life of bivalirudin, which differentiates it from other direct thrombin inhibitors.
Cumulative median blood loss within the first 24 hours was not excessive in either the heparin or bivalirudin group and was similar to other large, prospective, randomized trials in which postoperative bleeding was quantified.
20,21
In patients receiving bivalirudin anticoagulation, there was increased blood loss (with significant variability) in the early postoperative period. Other early postoperative events such as platelet transfusion and re-exploration for persistent hemorrhage were more frequent in patients receiving bivalirudin, although the total number of patients was small and the differences in platelet transfusion and re-exploration rates were not statistically significant. Unfamiliarity with bivalirudin and the more gradual return to hemostasis in these patients may have triggered early platelet use. Other causative factors for early postoperative bleeding may include inappropriate reloading during CPB. However, the rates of platelet transfusion in both groups were in line with national norms: 0% to 36% as reported in a study of 24 academic institutions across the United States
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and 14.4% as reported in a study analyzing data from 6 double-blind aprotinin clinical trials performed for licensure.
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Careful attention to the medical management and perfusion management of patients with bivalirudin anticoagulation could minimize early blood loss.
The limitations of the study include its small size and open-label design. No attempt was made to control transfusion triggers or clinical practice among sites.
| Conclusions |
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| See related editorial on page 515 and related article on page 686.
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| Earn CME credits at http://cme.ctsnetjournals.org.
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| Footnotes |
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| References |
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