Table 2.
Comparison of biological and transfusion characteristics of days on ECMO with and without bleeding events
| Variablea | ECMO days without bleeding (n = 1144) | ECMO days with bleeding (n = 203) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest Hb (g/dL)b | 93 (90–95) | 87 (84–89) | <0.01 |
| Lowest platelet count (×109 cells/L)b | 125 (115–134) | 131 (122–141) | 0.15 |
| Highest INRb | 1.6 (1.5–2.0) | 1.9 (1.7–2.0) | 0.14 |
| Lowest Fg (g/L)b | 4.0 (3.8–4.3) | 3.9 (3.7–4.2) | 0.59 |
| Highest aPTT (s)b | 71 (67–76) | 90 (81–98) | <0.01 |
| Lowest arterial pHb | 7.35 (7.33–7.36) | 7.30 (7.28–7.32) | <0.01 |
| Lowest temperature (°C)b | 36.1 (35.9–36.2) | 36.1 (35.9–36.2) | 0.85 |
| Highest urea (mmol/L)b | 11.1 (10.4–11.7) | 11.4 (10.6–12.2) | 0.40 |
| Lowest corrected calcium (mmol/L)b | 1.09 (1.07–1.10) | 1.02 (1.01–1.05) | <0.01 |
| Highest free haemoglobinb | 0.07 (0.06–0.08) | 0.07 (0.05–0.10) | 0.65 |
| RRTb | 461 (40 %) | 76 (37 %) | 0.43 |
| Bilirubinb | 22.6 (19.6–26.0) | 22.1 (20.0–24.4) | 0.67 |
| Anticoagulation | |||
| Heparin infusionb | 816 (71 %) | 106 (52 %) | <0.01 |
| Hours on heparin per dayb | 22 (19–24) | 18 (15–20) | 0.04 |
| Highest aPTT if receiving heparin (s)b | 69 (64–73) | 86 (76–95) | <0.01 |
| Daily dose heparin if receiving heparin (unit)b | 19,256 (17,292–21,219) | 21,400 (19,187–23,614) | 0.06 |
| Centre Alfred Hospital | 1085 (95 %) | 181 (89 %) | 0.10 |
| Max membrane gradient (mmHg) | 21 (19–23) | 20 (17–22) | 0.55 |
| VA ECMO | 737 (64 %) | 164 (81 %) | <0.01 |
| Type of access if VA ECMO, peripheral | 697 (94 %) | 146 (89 %) | 0.04 |
Hb haemoglobin, INR international normalised ratio, Fg fibrinogen, aPTT activated partial thromboplastin time, RRT renal replacement therapy, IABP intra-aortic balloon pump, VA ECMO veno-arterial ECMO
aMean (95 % CI) adjusted for repeated measures presented for continuous variables and number (%) for categorical variables. P values are adjusted for repeated measures
bValues are for day prior to bleeding event when considering ECMO days with bleeding