Assessment of thrombin generation measured before and after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and its association with post-operative bleeding.J Thromb Haemost 2011; 9: 282-92.Summary. Background: Bleeding after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and consumes large amounts of blood. Identifying patients at increased risk of bleeding secondary to hemostatic impairment may improve clinical outcomes by allowing early intervention. Methods: This present study recruited 77 patients undergoing CPB and measured coagulation screens, coagulation factors, TEG Ò , Rotem Ò and thrombin generation (TG) before surgery and 30 min after heparin reversal. The tests were analyzed to investigate whether they identified patients at increased risk of excess bleeding (defined as > 1000 mL) in the first 24 h postoperatively. Results: Patients who bled > 1000 mL had a lower: platelet count (P < 0.02), factors (F)IX, X and XI (P < 0.005), endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) and an initial rate of TG (P < 0.02) and higher activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) (P < 0.001) than patients who bled < 1000 mL. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was significant for post-operative TG and aPTT (P < 0.001). Furthermore, reduced pre-operative TG was associated with increased postoperative bleeding (P < 0.02). Pre-and postoperative TG were correlated (q = 0.7, P < 0.001). TEG Ò , Rotem Ò and prothrombin time (PT) at either time point were not associated with increased bleeding. Conclusion: These data suggest that pre-operative defects in the propagation phase of hemostasis are exacerbated during CPB, contributing to bleeding post-CPB. TG taken both pre-and postoperatively could potentially be used to identify patients at an increased risk of bleeding post-CPB.

Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Deep-seated lipomas are often atypical histologically and are considered by some to have a high risk of recurrence after excision. We reviewed 215 deep-seated lipomas of the extremities and trunk wall with reference to histology, cytogenetics, clinical features and local recurrence. We classified tumours with atypical features and/or ring chromosomes as atypical lipomas. These were more common in men, larger than ordinary lipomas and more often located in the upper leg. The annual incidence was estimated as ten per million inhabitants and the ratio of atypical to ordinary lipomas was 1:3. In total, six tumours (3%), recurred locally after a median of eight years (1 to 16); of these, four were classified as atypical. The low recurrence rate of deep-seated lipomas of the extremity or trunk wall, irrespective of histological subtype, implies that if surgery is indicated, the tumour may be shelled out, that atypical lipomas in these locations do not deserve the designation well-differentiated liposarcoma, and that routine review after surgery is not required.

No abstract

No abstract