Figure 5. Clot formation and local fibrinolysis in the MO as a reason for an elective system-exchange.

Timeline of respective values before and after sytem-exchange, “day 0”  =  system-exchange. In 24 patients (black dots), the MO was exchanged after a significant increase in D-dimer levels (A) without relevant alteration of fibrinogen (FG) levels (B). At the same time, platelet count decreased (C). After exchange, D-dimer concentration decreased and platelet counts remained stable. Circles: Patient population without exchange and comparable support time (≥12 days, n = 36). Data at day 9 after starting ECMO therapy were set as “day 0”, other values depicted accordingly. Data are presented as median and interquartile range. *, p≤0.05 compared to day 0 (refers to black dots). Differences between patients with and without exchange on respective days (a, p≤0.001; b, p≤0.01).