Why the study?
Does heparin coating of extracorporeal circuits improve outcomes or reduce complications in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation compared to no-heparin coating?
Does heparin coating of extracorporeal circuits improve outcomes or reduce complications in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation compared to no-heparin coating?
Current literature suggests no relevant benefits of heparin coating for ECMO circuits over no-heparin coating, with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia being a major concern.
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Caution against heparin-coated ECMO circuits given HIT risk; leaves open need for RCTs to guide practice.
Blood contact with surfaces of the extracorporeal circuit provokes the activation of the coagulation system. To improve biocompatibility of the extracorporeal circuit without increasing the risk of bleeding, coatings of artificial surfaces were designed; many of them involve the use of heparin. Data in the literature show that heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is a major issue in the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation scenario, and no relevant benefits have been shown comparing heparin and no-heparin coating.
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Silvetti et al. (2014) studied this question.
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