Clinical aspects of coagulation

Saville, Mark; Brown, Virginia

doi:10.1016/j.mpaic.2007.03.003

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Volume 8, Issue 6 , Pages 234-238, June 2007

Clinical aspects of coagulation

Mark Saville, FRCA, is Specialist Registrar at St Bartholomew's Hospital and the London NHS Trust. He graduated from the University of London, St Bartholomew's and the London School of Medicine in 1997. He spent a year as Registrar in Gosford, Australia

Virginia Brown, FRCA, is Cardiac Anaesthetist at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. She qualified in Sofia, Bulgaria, and trained in cardiac anaesthesia and intensive care in Leiden, The Netherlands. Her main research interests are evaluation of cardiac risk for cardiac and noncardiac surgery and transfusion-related matters

Abstract

Anaesthetists are often confronted with complex clinical scenarios, including coagulopathies. Knowledge and understanding of the coagulation cascade, pathways of haemostasis and common inherited and acquired disease are essential for clinical decision making. An overview of clinical aspects of coagulation, with the most recent therapeutic and monitoring strategies, is presented. Brief discussions on disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), thrombelastography and recombinant factor VIIa are included.

Keywords: coagulopathy, DIC, HIT syndrome, recombinant factor VIIa, thrombelastography