Rotational Thromboelastometric Profile in Early Sepsis: A Prospective Cohort Study

Coagulation abnormalities are common in sepsis patients and are associated with increased mortality. This study aimed to assess the hemostatic profile of sepsis patients using rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) and to find the ROTEM parameters best predicting short-term mortality.

We conducted a prospective analysis of consecutive sepsis patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit. The inclusion criteria were diagnosis of sepsis or septic shock and pro-calcitonin concentration >0.5 ng mL^-1. Clinical, standard laboratory, and ROTEM analyses were performed.

The study group comprised 38 (49%) males and 40 (51%) females. Median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 8 (interquartile range IQR 5-11) points. The most common primary sites of infection were pneumonia (n = 27/35%), intra-abdominal (n = 27/35%), urinary tract infection (n=20/26%), and others (n = 4/6%). The following parameters evaluating fibrinogen function were outside the reference range: clotting time (CT), clot amplitude (A) at 10 and 20 min, and maximal clot firmness (MCF). Out of 78 patients, 28 (36%) died in the intensive care unit. Significant differences between survivors and non-survivors of sepsis were present for the ROTEM parameters assessing fibrinolytic activity.

ROTEM in the early phase of sepsis reveals increased coagulation mediated through the function of fibrinogen. Non-survivors showed slightly lower fibrinolytic activity than survivors; however, it was still within test reference values. The highest predicting value was obtained by a model incorporating, among others, extrinsic coagulation pathway fibrinolytic parameters.