Blood Coagulation and Fibrinolytic Response After Endovascular Stent Grafting of Thoracic Aorta
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Blood coagulation and fibrinolytic response after endovascular stent grafting of thoracic aorta Taro Shimazaki, MD, Shin Ishimaru, MD, Satoshi Kawaguchi, MD, Yoshihiko Yokoi, MD, and Yoshiko Watanabe, MD, Tokyo, Japan Objective: Thrombosis is common in aneurysms immediately after stent-grafting, because of exclusion from systemic blood flow. We studied changes in blood coagulation and the fibrinolytic system in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissection after stent-grafting to examine risk for consumption coagulopathy. Methods: Thirty-one thoracic aortic aneurysms were treated with stent-grafting (aneurysm group), and 29 aortic dissections were treated with entry closure with stent-grafting (dissection group). The stent-graft was constructed from a self-expanding Z stent and thin-walled woven polyester fabric. Platelet count, fibrinogen, antithrombin III (AT III), ␣ ␣ and thrombin-AT III complex were assayed as markers of coagulation. Plasminogen, 2-plasmin inhibitor, 2-plasmin inhibitor-plasmin complex, fibrin degradation products fragment E (FDP-E), and fibrin degradation products D-dimer were monitored as markers of fibrinolysis. Blood samples were collected before surgery and on postoperative days 1, 3, 7, and 14. Results: In both groups platelet count significantly decreased on postoperative days 1 and 3, and increased on postoperative day 14. AT III significantly decreased on postoperative day 1, but recovered after postoperative day 7. FDP-E significantly increased on postoperative day 1 in both groups. There was significant correlation of aneurysm ␣ diameter with 2-plasmin inhibitor-plasmin complex, fibrin degradation products, and D-dimer in the dissection group on postoperative day 1. Conclusions: Activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis was observed after stent-grafting to treat thoracic aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection. However, no patients exhibited consumption coagulopathy postoperatively. Therefore we believe there is little risk for consumption coagulopathy after stent-grafting. (J Vasc Surg 2003;37:1213-8.) The advantages of endovascular grafting for treatment fibrinolytic systems after endovascular grafting than after of thoracic aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection, compared open surgery, because blood products such as platelets and with conventional open surgery, were previously reported fibrinogen are consumed by generation of thrombus in an by the Stanford group.1-3 However, side effects from the aneurysmal sac or false lumen. procedure were not sufficiently examined. Mialhe et al4 To date there have been two reports of consumption reported that fever occurred in 57% of patients who under- coagulopathy after stent-grafting: Ohara et al9 reported a went endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm, case in which a patient with AAA died of adult respiratory and blood coagulation disorders developed postoperatively distress syndrome and disseminated intravascular coagula- in 10% of patients. Norgen et al5 observed inflammatory tion (DIC) after stent-grafting, and Cross et al10 reported response and decreased platelet count after endovascular fatal consumptive coagulopathy after stent-grafting in a grafting of aortic aneurysm. Thrombosis is commonly ob- patient with AAA. If bleeding is prolonged, consumption served in aneurysms immediately after stent-grafting, be- coagulopathy can cause serious complications such as DIC cause of exclusion from systemic blood flow. and multiple organ failure. Differences in hemodynamics On the other hand, enhancement of coagulation and after stent-grafting have been observed between thoracic depression of fibrinolysis occurring within 3 days after open aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection. A thrombus that surgery to treat abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with an forms in the aneurysmal sac of a thoracic aortic aneurysm artificial graft has been reported.6 Similarly, inhibition of after stent-grafting is separated from systemic blood flow, systemic fibrinolysis and marked thrombin generation have whereas a thrombus in aortic dissection remains in contact occurred after repair of ruptured AAA, and similar changes with the systemic blood flow through the reentry. This have been noted in nonruptured AAA.7 Brithers et al8 suggests that activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis is found systemic fibrinolysis, detected at thrombelastogra- more likely after stent-grafting to treat aortic dissection phy, in 25% of patients who had undergone AAA repair.8 than after stent-grafting to treat aortic aneurysm. We expected more marked activation of coagulative and We studied changes in blood coagulation and the fi- brinolytic system in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm From the Department of Surgery II, Tokyo Medical University. Competition of interest: none. and aortic dissection treated with stent-grafting. Reprint requests: Taro Shimazaki, MD, Department of Surgery II, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo METHODS 160-0023, Japan (e-mail: [email protected]). Patients. Thirty-one patients (25 men, 6 women; Copyright © 2003 by The Society for Vascular Surgery and The American mean age, 69.9 years) with thoracic aortic aneurysm under- Association for Vascular Surgery. 0741-5214/2003/$30.00 ϩ 0 went stent-grafting (aneurysm group), and 29 patients (27 doi:10.1016/S0741-5214(02)75323-8 men, 2 women; mean age, 54.4 years) with aortic dissection 1213 JOURNAL OF VASCULAR SURGERY 1214 Shimazaki et al June 2003 Table I. Patient and surgical data Aneurysm group Dissection group (n ϭ 31) (n ϭ 29) P Age (y) 69.9 Ϯ 7.6 54.4 Ϯ 13.7 Ͻ.0001 Sex (% men) 80.6 93.1 NS Diameter of aneurysm (mm) 58 Ϯ 16 54 Ϯ 15 NS Operation time (min) 250 Ϯ 74 195 Ϯ 61 Ͻ.005 Bleeding volume (mL) 457 Ϯ 373 168 Ϯ 183 Ͻ.05 Blood transfusion (mL) 108 Ϯ 197 66 Ϯ 156 NS Values are given as mean Ϯ SD or percentage of patients. NS, Not significant. (double-barrel type) underwent entry closure with stent- tween preoperative and postoperative values (postoperative grafting (dissection group). All aortic dissections were days 1, 3, 7, and 14) were assessed with Wilcoxon signed- chronic (Stanford type B), without preoperative consump- rank test and the Holm method. The Mann-Whitney U test tion coagulopathy. The results of elective stent-grafting was used to compare groups of patients. Because the data alone are reported here; emergency cases were not included were not normally distributed, the Spearman rank test was in the study. No patient in either group had a history of liver used to assess the correlation between aneurysm diameter disease or was taking oral anticoagulation therapy before and various values on postoperative day 1. All values are the operation. Anticoagulant, eg, nalmostat mesilate or expressed as means Ϯ SD. P Ͻ .05 was considered statisti- gabexate mesilate (proteinase inhibitors often used to treat cally significant. DIC), was not administered during the postoperative course. In all cases, before stent-grafting informed consent RESULTS was obtained according to guidelines of the Ethics Com- Surgical data (Table I). Mean aneurysm diameter mittee of Tokyo Medical University. was 58 Ϯ 16 mm in the aneurysm group and 54 Ϯ 15 mm Stent-graft. The stent-graft was constructed from a in the dissection group. No significant difference was ob- self-expanding Gianturco Z stent (Cook, Bloomington, served between the two groups. Stent-grafting was success- Ind) and thin-walled woven polyester fabric (Ube Indus- fully performed in all patients. In the aneurysm group, tries, Ube, Japan). The femoral artery was exposed with the aneurysms were completely excluded in all patients. In the patient under general anesthesia. Activated coagulation dissection group, partial thrombus in the false lumen was time was maintained at more than 200 seconds with intra- observed on the postoperative CT scan. Postoperative venous administration of 50 U/kg of heparin before sheath change in aneurysm diameter was not noted in either insertion. A guide wire, 400 cm long and 0.032 inches in group, and no graft infection, thromboembolism, or para- diameter, was introduced through the right brachial artery plegia developed in any patient. Operation time was signif- and down to the abdominal aorta. The distal end of the icantly longer in the aneurysm group (250 Ϯ 74 minutes) guide wire was caught with a snare catheter (Microvena, than in the dissection group (195 Ϯ 61 minutes) (P Ͻ White Bear Lake, Minn) and picked up at the femoral .005). Blood loss during stent-graft repair was significantly artery. An 18F or 20F sheath (Cook) was introduced higher in the aneurysm group (457 Ϯ 373 mL) than in the transfemorally over the guide wire with the tug-of-wire dissection group (168 Ϯ 183 mL) (P Ͻ .05). technique.11 Excluded aneurysm was confirmed with digi- Changes in coagulation (Table II). Platelet count tal subtraction angiography immediately after the opera- decreased significantly in both groups on postoperative tion and with computed tomography (CT) on postopera- days 1 and 3 (P Ͻ .01), but returned to the preoperative tive day 10. value on postoperative day 7. Platelet count in both groups Blood samples. Platelet count (normal range, 140- on postoperative day 14 was significantly higher than the 340 ϫ 109/L), fibrinogen (normal range, 2-4 g/L), anti- preoperative value (P Ͻ .01). In both groups, fibrinogen thrombin III (AT III; normal, Ͼ70%), and thrombin-AT increased postoperatively, with significant increase after III complex (normal range, 0-2.0 ng/mL) were assayed as postoperative day 3 (P Ͻ .01). In contrast, AT III level markers of coagulation. Plasminogen (normal range, 80%- decreased significantly in both groups on postoperative day ␣ Ͻ 120%), 2-plasmin inhibitor (normal range, 80%-120%), 1(P .01) and recovered after postoperative day 7. ␣ 2-plasmin inhibitor-plasmin complex (normal range, Thrombin-AT III complex in both groups increased signif- 0-0.8 mg/mL), FDP-E (normal, Ͻ100 ng/mL), and fi- icantly on postoperative day 1 (P Ͻ .01) and recovered after brin degradation products D-dimer (normal, Ͻ0.8 mg/ postoperative day 7. mL) were assayed as markers of fibrinolysis.