Indications and Risks of Fibrinogen in Surgery and Trauma

Fibrinogen has a central role in coagulation. Following trauma and perioperatively, low fibrinogen levels have been found to be risk factors for exaggerated bleeding, transfusion needs, and adverse outcome. Conversely, treatment with exogenous fibrinogen in critically bleeding patients with low fibrinogen levels has been shown to decrease transfusion needs. Because following trauma and in many perioperative situations fibrinogen is the first coagulation "element" to become critically low, it appears reasonable to target fibrinogen in clinical coagulation algorithms aiming at early specific and goal-directed treatment. A low fibrinogen can be a low plasma concentration or a low functional fibrinogen as assessed by point-of-care techniques such as thromboelastography (TEG) or thromboelastometry (ROTEM). This review summarizes the evidence base for perioperative algorithm-based fibrinogen administration, including the exact thresholds for fibrinogen administration used in the different algorithms. Algorithm-based individualized goal-directed use of fibrinogen resulted in highly significant reduction in transfusion needs, adverse outcomes, in certain studies even mortality, and where investigated reduced costs, with high safety levels at the same time. Best evidence exists in cardiac surgery, followed by trauma, postpartum hemorrhage, and liver transplantation. The introduction of these concepts is highly demanding and requires a tremendous educational effort to familiarize all health care workers with the necessary knowledge and the skills of how to run TEG/ROTEM tests. Future research is needed to compare the efficacy, safety, and costs of different algorithms. This, however, should not prevent us from introducing these expedient point-of-care-based algorithms clinically today.