Table of contentsP001 - Sepsis impairs the capillary response within hypoxic capillaries and decreases erythrocyte oxygen-dependent ATP effluxR. M. Bateman, M. D. Sharpe, J. E. Jagger, C. G. EllisP002 - Lower serum immunoglobulin G2 level does not predispose to severe flu.J. Solé-Violán, M. López-Rodríguez, E. Herrera-Ramos, J. Ruíz-Hernández, L. Borderías, J. Horcajada, N. González-Quevedo, O. Rajas, M. Briones, F. Rodríguez de Castro, C. Rodríguez GallegoP003 - Brain protective effects of intravenous immunoglobulin through inhibition of complement activation and apoptosis in a rat model of sepsisF. Esen, G. Orhun, P. Ergin Ozcan, E. Senturk, C. Ugur Yilmaz, N. Orhan, N. Arican, M. Kaya, M. Kucukerden, M. Giris, U. Akcan, S. Bilgic Gazioglu, E. TuzunP004 - Adenosine a1 receptor dysfunction is associated with leukopenia: A possible mechanism for sepsis-induced leukopeniaR. Riff, O. Naamani, A. DouvdevaniP005 - Analysis of neutrophil by hyper spectral imaging - A preliminary reportR. Takegawa, H. Yoshida, T. Hirose, N. Yamamoto, H. Hagiya, M. Ojima, Y. Akeda, O. Tasaki, K. Tomono, T. ShimazuP006 - Chemiluminescent intensity assessed by eaa predicts the incidence of postoperative infectious complications following gastrointestinal surgeryS. Ono, T. Kubo, S. Suda, T. Ueno, T. IkedaP007 - Serial change of c1 inhibitor in patients with sepsis – A prospective observational studyT. Hirose, H. Ogura, H. Takahashi, M. Ojima, J. Kang, Y. Nakamura, T. Kojima, T. ShimazuP008 - Comparison of bacteremia and sepsis on sepsis related biomarkersT. Ikeda, S. Suda, Y. Izutani, T. Ueno, S. OnoP009 - The changes of procalcitonin levels in critical patients with abdominal septic shock during blood purificationT. Taniguchi, M. OP010 - Validation of a new sensitive point of care device for rapid measurement of procalcitoninC. Dinter, J. Lotz, B. Eilers, C. Wissmann, R. LottP011 - Infection biomarkers in primary care patients with acute respiratory tract infections – Comparison of procalcitonin and C-reactive proteinM. M. Meili, P. S. SchuetzP012 - Do we need a lower procalcitonin cut off?H. Hawa, M. Sharshir, M. Aburageila, N. SalahuddinP013 - The predictive role of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin biomarkers in central nervous system infections with extensively drug resistant bacteriaV. Chantziara, S. Georgiou, A. Tsimogianni, P. Alexandropoulos, A. Vassi, F. Lagiou, M. Valta, G. Micha, E. Chinou, G. MichaloudisP014 - Changes in endotoxin activity assay and procalcitonin levels after direct hemoperfusion with polymyxin-b immobilized fiberA. Kodaira, T. Ikeda, S. Ono, T. Ueno, S. Suda, Y. Izutani, H. ImaizumiP015 - Diagnostic usefullness of combination biomarkers on ICU admissionM. V. De la Torre-Prados, A. Garcia-De la Torre, A. Enguix-Armada, A. Puerto-Morlan, V. Perez-Valero, A. Garcia-AlcantaraP016 - Platelet function analysis utilising the PFA-100 does not predict infection, bacteraemia, sepsis or outcome in critically ill patientsN. Bolton, J. Dudziak, S. Bonney, A. Tridente, P. NeeP017 - Extracellular histone H3 levels are in...

Prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) is a term to describe pharmacological products that contain lyophilized, human plasma-derived vitamin K-dependent factors (F), FII, FVII, FIX, FX, and various amounts of proteins C and S. PCCs can be rapidly reconstituted in a small volume (20 ml for about 500 international units (IU)) at bedside and administered regardless of the patient’s blood type. PCCs are categorized as 4-factor PCC if they contain therapeutic amounts of FVII, and 3-factor PCC when FVII content is low. In addition, activated PCC which contains activated FVII and FX with prothrombin is available for factor VIII bypassing therapy in hemophilia patients with inhibitors. Currently, 4-factor PCC is approved for the management of bleeding in patients taking warfarin, but there has been increasing use of various PCCs in the treatment of acquired perioperative coagulopathy unrelated to warfarin therapy and in the management of bleeding due to novel oral anticoagulants. There is also an ongoing controversy about plasma transfusion and its potential hazards including transfusion-related lung injury (TRALI). Early fixed ratio plasma transfusion has been implemented in many trauma centers in the USA, whereas fibrinogen concentrate and PCC are preferred over plasma transfusion in some European centers.In this review, the rationales for including PCCs in the perioperative hemostatic management will be discussed in conjunction with plasma transfusion.

BackgroundEarly diagnosis of sepsis and its differentiation from the noninfective SIRS is very important in order that treatment can be initiated in a timely and appropriate way. In this study we investigated standard haematological and biochemical parameters and thromboelastography (TEG) in patients who had undergone surgical resection of the oesophagus to find out if changes in any of these parameters could help in early differentiation between SIRS and sepsis development.MethodsWe enrolled 43 patients (aged 41–74 years) of whom 38 were evaluable. Blood samples were obtained on the morning of surgery and then at 24-hour intervals for the next 6 days. Samples were analysed for procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL- 6), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) , lactate, white blood count (WBC), D-dimers, antithrombin (AT), international normalised ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and parameters of TEG.ResultsSignificant differences between patients who developed sepsis during this period (9 patients) and SIRS were found in ALT on Day 1, in AST on Days 1–4, in PCT on Days 2–6; in CRP on Days 3–6; in IL-6 on Days 2–5; in leucocytes on Days 2, 3 and 6; and in D-dimers on Days 2 and 4. Significance values ranged from p < 0.0001 to p < 0.05.ConclusionsSequential measurements of ALT, AST, PCT and IL-6 during the early postoperative period can be used for early differentiation of sepsis and postoperative SIRS after oesophagectomy. Among the coagulation parameters measured, only D-dimer concentrations appeared to be helpful in this process. TEG does not seem to be a useful early predictor of sepsis development; however it can be used to differentiate sepsis and SIRS from Day 5 after surgery.

In critically ill patients, either arterial or venous blood is usually available for sampling and measurement of basic coagulation parameters. The aim of this study was to examine whether in these patients the values of coagulation parameters differ significantly with respect to the source of the blood samples. In a group of 44 patients with severe sepsis, we compared the values of coagulation, thromboelastography and selected hematological parameters between the arterial and venous blood. In most of the investigated parameters (international normalized ratio, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen concentration, erythrocyte count, leukocyte and platelet count, hemoglobin level and thromboelastography parameters), we did not find significant differences (P > 0.1). However, we found a significantly lower antithrombin activity and a significantly higher D-dimer concentration in venous blood compared to arterial blood (P < 0.05). This could be associated with increased consumption of antithrombin and generation of D-dimer as a consequence of microthrombi formation in the capillaries. We therefore conclude that for the purpose of assessment of coagulation status in septic patients, arterial and venous blood cannot be treated as equivalent.

Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) is increasingly used in practice to monitor coagulation status of severely bleeding patients and it helps to provide aimed therapy. The main advantage of ROTEM is detection of fibrinolysis. To get fast results, the reagents for activation, either extrinsic or intrinsic pathway of coagulation, are used. Although this method gives information about whole blood coagulation, in some cases, the patient is bleeding despite normal values of ROTEM. We present a case of a bleeding patient with normal values of activated ROTEM method (EXTEM, INTEM). However, nonactivated method (NATEM) was able to detect fibrinolysis and no clot was found in the cuvette. When tranexamic acid was added to the cuvette, the trace came back to normal value and a clot was formed inside the cuvette. According to this finding, the patient was effectively treated with antifibrinolytic drugs and stopped bleeding. In this case, we want to demonstrate that NATEM, as nonactivated ROTEM, seems to be more sensitive to coagulation changes, especially in detection of fibrinolysis, than activated ROTEM methods.

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BackgroundCoagulopathy is often accompanied by prolongation of prothrombin time (PT) in septic and nonseptic patients in intensive care unit (ICU). The conventional way to correct the coagulopathy is to administer fresh frozen plasma (FFP) before invasive procedures to minimise the risk of bleeding. However, prolonged PT can be present even in hypercoagulation status, resulting in unnecessary administration of FFP. In the present study, we have assessed the reliability of thromboelastometry in case of prolonged PT and the relationship to bleeding complications during surgical tracheostomy.MethodsThe study was conducted during the period between April 2013 and April 2014 in patients undergoing surgical tracheostomy. Coagulation status was assessed using PT, and the status was reassessed by thromboelastometry for prolonged PT. Tracheostomy was performed in patients with normal thromboelastometry results without administering FFP.ResultsTracheostomy was performed in total 119 patients. Normal value of PT as measured by international normalized ratio (INR) ≤ 1.2 was found in 64 (54 %) patients, while prolonged INR > 1.2 was found in 55 (46 %) patients. Patients with INR ≥ 1.3 (with INR min- 1.3, max- 1.84, and median- 1.48) were further analysed by thromboelastometry. Despite prolonged INR, thromboelastometry results were in normal ranges in all cases except one. With normal thromboelastometry, tracheostomy was performed safely without any bleeding complication.ConclusionsSurgical tracheostomy in septic and nonseptic patients can be performed without bleeding complications in case of normal thromboelastometry results (EXTEM CT) despite increased PT-INR. This method can help physicians to reduce unnecessary administration of FFP in patients.

Heparin is commonly used to prevent obstruction of indwelling arterial catheters with blood clots. It is known to affect the outcomes of analysis of coagulation parameters with thromboelastography (TEG); therefore, it has been recommended to neutralize its effect with heparinase. However, heparinase may also neutralize the effect of low molecular weight heparin and endogenous heparinoids present in critically ill patients and thus yields unreliable results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the minimal discard blood volume needed to eliminate the effect of heparin flush on TEG parameters without the use of heparinase. Ten patients with indwelling arterial catheter were included in the study. Coagulation parameters were evaluated with kaolin-activated TEG. Blood samples were obtained after discarding 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 ml of blood to eliminate the effect of heparin. We investigated the influence of the discard volume on time until the first detectable clot (R), speed of clot development (alpha angle), maximal amplitude of the measured clot and time to maximal amplitude of the measured clot. We found an increase in coagulation (reflecting the heparin elimination) with the increasing discard volume between 1 and 4 ml. This was obvious from an increase in alpha angle and maximal amplitude of the measured clot and a decrease in R and time to maximal amplitude of the measured clot (P < 0.001). However, values obtained after discarding 4, 5 and 10 ml of blood did not differ markedly. To obtain valid information about TEG parameters, it is necessary to discard volume of at least 4 ml of blood (i.e., five times the volume of catheter dead space).