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Review
. 2022 Aug;14(8):3030-3044.
doi: 10.21037/jtd-22-428.

Management of perioperative bleeding risk in patients on antithrombotic medications undergoing cardiac surgery-a systematic review

Marijana Matejic-Spasic  1 , Kambiz Hassan  2 , Matthias Thielmann  3 , Stephan Geidel  2 , Robert F Storey  4 , Michael Schmoeckel  2 , Harriet Adamson  1 , Efthymios N Deliargyris  1 , Daniel Wendt  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Management of perioperative bleeding risk in patients on antithrombotic medications undergoing cardiac surgery-a systematic review

Marijana Matejic-Spasic et al. J Thorac Dis. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Antithrombotic drugs increase the risk of bleeding, especially in patients who need urgent surgery without an adequate wash-out period. This review aims to evaluate perioperative bleeding complications in patients on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) or direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) undergoing high-bleeding risk cardiovascular surgery and to present currently available potential solutions to mitigate antithrombotic therapy-related bleeding complications.

Methods: As a first step, we searched for relevant articles, over the last 10 years, in Medline (PubMed) and abstracted clinical information based on pre-defined criteria for bleeding complications. In the next step, an additional search evaluating potential solutions to mitigate bleeding complications was performed. The literature screening and selection process followed the principles derived from the PRISMA statement.

Results: From all reviewed studies, a total of 19 articles could be included evaluating the risk for bleeding in cardiac surgery related to DAPT or DOACs and 10 papers evaluating antithrombotic drug reversal or removal in the setting of cardiovascular surgery. Reported bleeding rates ranged between 18% and 41%. The variability of the reported data is remarkable. Idarucizumab is reported to provide optimal perioperative hemostasis in up to 93% of patients. It has been observed that andexanet alfa causes unresponsiveness to the anticoagulant effects of heparin. Antithrombotic removal by intraoperative hemoadsorption is found to be associated with a significant decrease in re-thoracotomy rate, overall procedure duration, administered transfusion volumes, chest-tube drainage, and length of hospitalization.

Discussion: Bleeding complications in patients treated with DAPT or DOACs in cardiac surgery are high. New costly reversal agents are available but have not been sufficiently tested in the cardio-surgical setting so far. Interestingly, bleeding-related complications seem to be effectively reduced by applying innovative intraoperative hemoadsorption techniques. Expected results from the ongoing trials should provide better insights concerning the efficacy and safety of several potential solutions. Currently, the variability of reports and the deficit of high-quality studies in this specific setting represent the major limitation for the unbiased conclusion of this review.

Keywords: Cardiac surgery; anticoagulants; antiplatelets; bleeding; hemoadsorption.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-22-428/coif). MMS is a full-time consultant to CytoSorbents. KH, SG and MT received honoraria for lectures by CytoSorbents. MT and RFS are the investigators in the STAR Registry (Clinical.Trials.gov, No. NCT05077124), sponsored by CytoSorbents. RFS and MS received honoraria for lectures and consultancy fees by CytoSorbents. HA, END, and DW are full-time employees of CytoSorbents. DW serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Journal of Thoracic Disease from April 2022 to March 2024. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Systematic literature search flowcharts. (A) Initial identification of studies via PubMed search. (B) Additional search via PubMed.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Example of CytoSorb interaction into the cardiopulmonary bypass (reproduced with permission from CytoSorbents Europe GmbH).
Figure 3
Figure 3
CytoSorb (reproduced with permission from CytoSorbents Europe GmbH): hemoadsorption range; size- and hydrophobicity-based polymer beads’ selectivity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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