Table 3.

Management of anticoagulation and bleeding with extracorporeal circuits

Prior to commencing anticoagulation in ECMO measureRangeResult
• Hemoglobin <70  g/L Y/N 
• Platelet count >50 × 109/L Y/N 
• PT/INR PT/INR <2.0 Y/N 
• aPTTr aPTTr <2.0 Y/N 
• Anti-Xa level Anti-Xa level <0.7 Y/N 
• Fibrinogen >1  g/L Y/N 
• Triglycerides <400  mg/dL Y/N 
• Bilirubin <6  mg/dL Y/N 
• Active bleeding  Y/N 
• No CVA within last 4 weeks  Y/N 
Only commence anticoagulation if all the above answers are Y
• If platelets <50 × 109/L, transfuse 1 pool of platelets and recheck
• If INR >2 or aPTTr >2, transfuse 15  mL/kg FFP
• If fibrinogen <1  g/L, transfuse 15  mL/kg 
Starting dose of UFH 18 IU/kg/h using adjusted body weight
• If total body weight is less than adjusted body weight, use the patient's ACTUAL weight
• Dose is capped at 100  kg 
Once 2 consecutive anti-Xa levels are within the therapeutic range, without a pause/interruption to the infusion or a dose adjustment being required, anti-Xa monitoring can be reduced to once daily. 
Target anti-Xa 0.3 to 0.5
Daily bloodsRange
• Hemoglobin <70  g/L • Maintain hemoglobin >70 
• Platelet count >50 × 109/L • Maintain platelets >50 
• INR INR <2.0  
• aPTTr aPTTr <2.0  
• Anti-Xa level Anti-Xa level <0.7 • If >0.7, hold UFH infusion 
• Fibrinogen >1  g/L • Maintain >1  g/L 
• Triglycerides <400  mg/dL • Review sedation 
• Bilirubin <6  mg/dL • Hemolysis screen 
If anti-Xa in range and aPTTr <2, no change to anticoagulation 
If anti-Xa in range and aPTTr >2, investigate for DIC, ensure fibrinogen >1 
Prior to commencing anticoagulation in ECMO measureRangeResult
• Hemoglobin <70  g/L Y/N 
• Platelet count >50 × 109/L Y/N 
• PT/INR PT/INR <2.0 Y/N 
• aPTTr aPTTr <2.0 Y/N 
• Anti-Xa level Anti-Xa level <0.7 Y/N 
• Fibrinogen >1  g/L Y/N 
• Triglycerides <400  mg/dL Y/N 
• Bilirubin <6  mg/dL Y/N 
• Active bleeding  Y/N 
• No CVA within last 4 weeks  Y/N 
Only commence anticoagulation if all the above answers are Y
• If platelets <50 × 109/L, transfuse 1 pool of platelets and recheck
• If INR >2 or aPTTr >2, transfuse 15  mL/kg FFP
• If fibrinogen <1  g/L, transfuse 15  mL/kg 
Starting dose of UFH 18 IU/kg/h using adjusted body weight
• If total body weight is less than adjusted body weight, use the patient's ACTUAL weight
• Dose is capped at 100  kg 
Once 2 consecutive anti-Xa levels are within the therapeutic range, without a pause/interruption to the infusion or a dose adjustment being required, anti-Xa monitoring can be reduced to once daily. 
Target anti-Xa 0.3 to 0.5
Daily bloodsRange
• Hemoglobin <70  g/L • Maintain hemoglobin >70 
• Platelet count >50 × 109/L • Maintain platelets >50 
• INR INR <2.0  
• aPTTr aPTTr <2.0  
• Anti-Xa level Anti-Xa level <0.7 • If >0.7, hold UFH infusion 
• Fibrinogen >1  g/L • Maintain >1  g/L 
• Triglycerides <400  mg/dL • Review sedation 
• Bilirubin <6  mg/dL • Hemolysis screen 
If anti-Xa in range and aPTTr <2, no change to anticoagulation 
If anti-Xa in range and aPTTr >2, investigate for DIC, ensure fibrinogen >1 

aPTTr, activated partial thromboplastin time ratio; CVA, cerebral vascular accident; INR, international normalised ratio; UFH, unfractionated heparin.

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