Fig 1.
Thrombelastogram obtained by rotational thromboelastography (ROTEM).
ROTEM analysis is a point-of-care assay that allows the assessment of the complete clotting process. Functional coagulation parameters like clot-formation time (CFT), maximum clot firmness (MCF), and clotting time (CT) are tested in whole blood.
Table 1.
Patient characteristics.
Table 2.
Coagulation parameters, ROTEM analysis and blood count.
Fig 2.
Conventional coagulation factors and platelets before and after therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) with albumin.
After TPE, aPTT (P = 0.0059), fibrinogen (P = 0.002), antithrombin (P = 0.0059) and platelets (P = 0.0039) showed significant changes.
Fig 3.
INTEM and EXTEM analyses before and after therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) with albumin.
The thrombelastogram appears elongated and in a narrow shape after TPE. These differences correlate to significant changes in clot-formation time (CFT) and maximum clot firmness (MCF).
Fig 4.
Clot-formation time (CFT) and maximum clot firmness (MCF) of all patients before and after TPE.
INTEM and EXTEM analyses revealed a significant prolonged CFT (P = 0.0144 and P = 0.002, respectively) and reduced MCF (P = 0.0057 and P = 0.0058, respectively).