Fast Interpretation of Thromboelastometry and Aggregometry in Patients Suffering from Chronic Liver Disease

Collective specific variegated alterations in the hemostatic system cast doubt on the uncritical usage of standard hemotherapy algorithms in patients with chronic liver disease. The aims of the present study were to examine the applicability of commonly used early viscoelastic parameters in this particular collective and to develop first-time thresholds for the early detection of clinically relevant platelet dysfunction.

Patients suffering from advanced chronic liver disease were enrolled in this prospective single-centre study and consecutively allocated to Group 1 (MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease) score 6 - 11) or Group 2 (MELD score > 16). We performed conventional laboratory coagulation analyses, as well as viscoelastometry (ROTEM®, EXTEM test, and FIBTEM test) and aggregometry (Multiplate®, ASPItest, and ADPtest), in each patient to analyze their hemostatic capacity. We analyzed the association between the A10 values (clot firmness 10 minutes after the initiation of clot building) in the EXTEM and FIBTEM tests and the corresponding Maximum Clot Firmness (MCF) values and performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses to investigate the ability of early parameters from the ASPItest and ADPtest (Aggregation Units (AU) 1 minute (T1), 2 minutes (T2) and 3 minutes (T3) after induction of platelet aggregation) of the Multiplate® system to predict clinically relevant platelet dysfunction.

In the complete study collective (n = 50) and in Group 1 and Group 2 (each n = 25), A10 values correlated highly significantly with corresponding MCF values. The bias between the A10 and the MCF values was 5.1 ± 2.4 mm and 1.2 ± 1.1 mm for the EXTEM test and FIBTEM test, respectively. The highest sensitivity and specificity values for the prediction of clinically relevant platelet dysfunction at measuring point T3 were analyzed to be the values 54.9 AU/min in the ASPItest and 50.1 AU/min in the ADPtest.

The results of the study indicate that the basic principle of using the A10 values as so-called early vis-coelastic parameters for the estimation of MCF values is legitimate. The presumably divergent bias between the A10 and MCF values necessitates the development of collective specific thresholds in hemotherapy algorithms for coagulopathic patients suffering from advanced chronic liver disease.