Publication Date

12-1-2014

Journal

The Texas Heart Journal

DOI

10.14503/THIJ-13-3631

PMID

25593533

Publication Date(s)

December 2014

Language

English

PMCID

PMC4251340

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

12-1-2014

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-Print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Anticoagulants/adverse effects, aortic dissection, bivalirudin, blood coagulation, blood loss, surgical, cardiopulmonary bypass, circulatory arrest, deep hypothermia induced, hemofiltration, heparin/adverse effects, hirudins, thrombocytopenia/chemically induced/prevention & control

Abstract

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is a well-recognized complication of anticoagulation with heparin. We present the case of a patient with recent heparin-induced thrombocytopenia who subsequently needed surgery on an emergency basis for acute type A aortic dissection. This article reports the successful use of bivalirudin, a direct thrombin inhibitor, as an alternative to heparin throughout cardiopulmonary bypass and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. We contend that bivalirudin is a safe alternative to heparin when performing surgery for aortic dissection and should be considered as an option for use in patients who present with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.