Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T07:37:28.400Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Antiplatelet therapy preceding coronary artery surgery: implications for bleeding, transfusion requirements and outcome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2007

S. M. Picker
Affiliation:
University of Cologne, Department of *Transfusion Medicine, Cologne, Germany
T. Kaleta
Affiliation:
University of Cologne, Department of *Transfusion Medicine, Cologne, Germany
K. Hekmat
Affiliation:
University of Cologne, Department of †Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cologne, Germany
S. Kampe
Affiliation:
University of Cologne, Department of ¶Anesthesiology, Cologne, Germany
B. S. Gathof
Affiliation:
University of Cologne, Department of *Transfusion Medicine, Cologne, Germany
Get access

Summary

Background and objective

Bleeding after cardiac surgery correlates with morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of antiplatelet therapy on bleeding and transfusion rates in coronary artery bypass grafting.

Methods

Forty patients receiving aspirin and/or clopidogrel/ticlopidine within 7 days prior to surgery were retrospectively compared to 40 control patients lacking antiplatelet therapy for at least 8 preoperative days. Blood loss was assessed as chest-tube drainage during the first 12 h after surgery. Units transfused were recorded intraoperatively and during stay in the intensive care unit.

Results

Both groups were comparable for pre- and intraoperative data. Irrespective of single or combined antiplatelet therapy, treated patients demonstrated lower fractions of the creatine-kinase isoenzyme MB (5.8 ± 3.1 vs. 8.2 ± 4.1%; P = 0.004) and infarction rates (0 vs. 3; P = 0.240) than control patients, but had significantly more haemorrhages (940 ± 861 mL vs. 412 ± 590 mL; P = 0.002) and transfusion requirements (red cells: 4.5 ± 4.9 vs. 1.5 ± 2.3, plasma: 4.9 ± 6.4 vs. 1.3 ± 2.5, platelets: 1.5 ± 1.3 vs. 0.1 ± 0.2; all P ⩽ 0.001). The differences to control patients were more pronounced for only short antiplatelet therapy free intervals or ongoing antiplatelet therapy (P⩽2 days ⩽ 0.019). For antiplatelet therapy free intervals longer than 2 days, bleeding and transfusion rates (except for platelets) were nonsignificantly higher as compared to control patients (P ⩾ 0.058).

Conclusions

To overcome increased blood loss and transfusion rates, antiplatelet therapy should be discontinued for at least 2 days before elective coronary surgery. Whether patients at high risk for myocardial infarction might benefit from ongoing antiplatelet therapy remains to be investigated.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © European Society of Anaesthesiology 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Hekmat, K, Menzel, C, Kroener, A et al. . The effect of preoperative antiplatelet therapy in coronary artery surgery: blood transfusion requirements for patients on cardiopulmonary bypass. Curr Med Res Opin 2004; 20: 14291435.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Pollack, CV, Gibler, WB. 2000 ACC/AHA guideline for the management of patients with unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a practical summary for emergency physicians. Ann Emerg Med 2001; 38: 229240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Antman, EM, Fox, KM. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of unstable angina and non Q-wave myocardial infarction: proposed revisions. International Cardiology Forum. Am Heart J 2000; 139: 461475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Bertrand, ME, Rupprecht, HJ, Urban, P et al. . Double-blind study of the safety of clopidogrel with and without a loading dose in combination with aspirin compared with ticlopidine in combination with aspirin after coronary stenting: the clopidogrel aspirin stent international cooperative study (CLASSICS). Circulation 2000; 102: 624629.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Fox, KA, Mehta, SR, Peters, R et al. . Benefits and risks of the combination of clopidogrel and aspirin in patients undergoing surgical revascularization for non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome: the clopidogrel in unstable angina to prevent recurrent ischemic events (CURE) trial. Circulation 2004; 110: 12021208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Ferraris, VA, Ferraris, SP. Preoperative aspirin ingestion increases operative blood loss after coronary artery bypass grafting [Updated in 1995]. Ann Thorac Surg 1995; 59: 10361037.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Taggart, DP, Siddiqui, A, Wheatley, DJ. Low dose preoperative aspirin therapy, postoperative blood loss, and transfusion requirements. Ann Thorac Surg 1990; 50: 424428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Sethi, GK, Copeland, JG, Goldman, S, Moritz, T, Zadina, K, Henderson, WG. Implications of preoperative administration of aspirin in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study on Antiplatelet Therapy. J Am Coll Cardiol 1990; 15: 1520.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Boldt, J, Knothe, C, Zickmann, B, Herold, C, Dapper, F, Hempelmann, G. The effects of preoperative aspirin therapy on platelet function in cardiac surgery. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 1992; 6: 598602.Google Scholar
10.Kallis, P, Tooze, JA, Talbot, S, Cowans, D, Bevan, DH, Treasure, T. Pre-operative aspirin decreases platelet aggregation and increases post-operative blood loss – a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial in 100 patients with chronic stable angina. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 1994; 8: 404409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Bracey, AW, Radovancevic, R, Radovancevic, B, JrMcAllister, HA, Vaughn, WK, Cooley, DA. Blood use in patients undergoing repeat coronary artery bypass graft procedures: multivariate analysis. Transfusion 1995; 35: 850854.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Bashein, G, Nessly, ML, Rice, AL, Counts, RB, Misbach, GA. Preoperative aspirin therapy and reoperation for bleeding after coronary artery bypass surgery. Arch Intern Med 1991; 151: 8993.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Pothula, S, Sanchala, VT, Nagappala, B, JrInchiosa, MA. The effect of preoperative antiplatelet/anticoagulant prophylaxis on postoperative blood loss in cardiac surgery. Anesth Analg 2004; 98: 410.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Burger, W, Chemnitius, JM, Kneissl, GD, Rücker, G. Low-dose aspirin for secondary cardiovascular prevention – cardiovascular risks after its perioperative withdrawl versus bleeding risks with its continuation – review and meta-analysis. J Int Med 2005; 257: 399414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Rawitscher, RE, Jones, JW, McCoy, TA, Lindsley, DA. A prospective study of aspirin’s effect on red blood cell loss in cardiac surgery. J Cardiothorac Surg 1991; 32: 17.Google ScholarPubMed
16.Vuylsteke, A, Oduro, A, Cardan, E, Latimer, RD. Effect of aspirin in coronary artery bypass grafting. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth 1997; 11: 831834.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Reich, DL, Patel, GC, Vela-Cantos, F, Bodian, C, Lansman, S. Aspirin does not increase homologous blood requirements in elective coronary bypass surgery. Anesth Analg 1994; 79: 48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Tuman, KJ, McCarthy, RJ, O’Connor, CJ, McCarthy, WE, Ivankovich, AD. Aspirin does not increase allogeneic blood transfusion in reoperative coronary artery surgery. Anesth Analg 1996; 83: 11781184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Moulton, MJ, Creswell, LL, Mackey, ME, Cox, JL, Rosenbloom, M. Reexploration for bleeding in a risk factor for adverse outcomes after cardiac operations. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1996; 111: 10371046.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Collet, JP, Himbet, F, Steg, PG. Myocardial infarction after aspirin cessation in stable coronary artery disease patients. Int J Cardiol 2000; 76: 257258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Ferrari, E, Benhamou, M, Cerboni, P, Badouy, M. Coronary syndromes following aspirin withdrawal. Chest 2003; 124: 148S.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Senior, K. Aspirin withdrawal increases risk of heart problems. Lancet 2003; 362: 1558.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Mangano, DT. Aspirin and mortality from coronary bypass surgery. N Eng J Med 2002; 347: 13091317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.Calafiore, AM, Teodori, G, Rondelez, L et al. . Intermittent antegrad warm blood cardioplegia. Ann Thorac Surg 1995; 59: 398402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25Hekmat, K, Zimmermann, T, Kampe, S et al. . Impact of tranexamic acid vs. aprotinin on blood loss and transfusion requirements after cardiopulmonary bypass: a prospective, randomised, double-blind trial. Curr Med Res Opin 2004; 20: 121126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26.Roques, F, Michel, P, Goldstone, AR, Nashef, SA. The logistic EuroSCORE. Eur Heart J 2003; 24: 882.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.Ferraris, VA, Ferraris, SP, Joseph, O, Wehner, P, JrMentzer, RM. Aspirin and postoperative bleeding after coronary artery bypass grafting. Ann Surg 2002; 235: 820827.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Menichetti, A, Tritapepe, L, Ruvolo, G et al. . Changes in coagulation patterns, blood loss, and blood use after cardiopulmonary bypass: aprotinin vs. tranexamic acid vs. epsilon aminocaproic acid. J Cardiovasc Surg 1996; 37: 401407.Google ScholarPubMed
29.Mangano, DT, Tudor, JC, Dietzel, C. The risk associated with aprotinin in cardiac surgery. N Eng J Med 2006; 354: 353365.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.Weightman, WM, Gibbs, NM, Weidmann, CR et al. . The efffect of preoperative-aspirin free interval on red blood cell transfusion requirements in cardiac surgical patients. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth 2002; 16: 5458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31.Schomig, A, Neumann, FJ, Kastrati, A. A randomized comparison of antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy after the placement of coronary-artery stents. N Eng J Med 1996; 334: 10841089.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32.Leon, MB, Baim, DS, Popma, JJ. A clinical trial comparing three antithrombotic-drug regimens after coronary-artery stenting. Stent Anticoagulation Restenosis Study Investigators. N Eng J Med 1998; 339: 16651671.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33.Schmidtler, F, Gansera, B, Spiliopoulos, K, Angelis, I, Neumaier-Prauser, P, Kemkes, BM. Urgent or emergent coronary revascularization using bilateral internal thoracic artery after previous clopidogrel antiplatelet therapy. Z Kardiol 2004; 93: 679685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34.Hongo, RH, Ley, J, Dick, SE, Yee, RR. The effect of clopidogrel in combination with aspirin when given before coronary artery bypass grafting. J AM Coll Cardiol 2002; 40: 231237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35.Yende, S, Wunderink, RG. Effect of clopidogrel on bleeding after coronary artery bypass surgery. Crit Care Med 2001; 29: 22712275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.Ray, JG, Deniz, S, Olivieri, A et al. . Increased blood product use among coronary artery bypass patients prescribed preoperative aspirin and clopidogrel. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2003; 22: 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37. Pritzbuer von E. Können aorto-koronare Bypass Operationen durch den Einsatz der präoperativen Eigenblutspende ohne Fremdblut durchgeführt werden? Inaugural dissertation at the University Hospital of Cologne, 2003: 26–28.Google Scholar
38.Leal-Noval, SR, Rincon-Ferrari, MD, Garcia-Curiel, A et al. . Transfusion of blood components and postoperative infection in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Chest 2001; 119: 14611468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39.Vamvakas, EC, Carven, HJ. Red blood cell transfusion and postoperative length of stay in the hospital or the intensive care unit among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery: the effect of confounding factors. Transfusion 2000; 40: 832839.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
40.Klein, M, Keith, PR, Dauben, HP et al. . Aprotinin counterbalances an increased risk of peri-operative hemorrhage in CABG patients pre-treated with aspirin. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 1998; 14: 360366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
41.Harder, S, Klinkhardt, U, Alvarez, JM. Avoidance of bleeding during surgery in patients receiving anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet therapy: pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic considerations. Clin Pharmacokinet 2004; 43: 963981.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42.Samama, CM, Albaladejo, P, Benhamou, D et al. . Venous thromboembolism prevention in surgery and obstetrics: clinical practice guidelines. Eur J Anest 2006; 23: 95116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
43.Sundt, TM, Kouchoukos, NT, Saffitz, JE, Murphy, SF, Wareing, TH, Stahl, DJ. Renal dysfunction and intravascular coagulation with aprotinin and hypothermic circulatory arrest. Ann Thorac Surg 1993; 55: 14181424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed