Article Text
Abstract
Thomboelastography (TEG) is a whole blood measure of coagulation which was originally described in the 1950s. However, it has only been in the last few decades that assays have become accessible and viable as a point-of-care test. Following the observation that hemorrhagic shock is associated with an intrinsic coagulopathy, TEG has been used as a method of diagnosing specific coagulation defects in order to direct individualized blood products resuscitation. An alternative transfusion strategy is the administration of fixed ratio products, a paradigm borne out of military experience. It is unknown which strategy is superior and this topic was debated at the 36th Annual Point/Counterpoint Acute Care Surgery Conference. The following article summarizes the discussants points of view along with a summary of the evidence.
Level of evidence Level III.
- coagulopathy of trauma
- coagulation tests
- blood transfusion
- shock resuscitation
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Footnotes
This study was presented at the 36th Point/Counterpoint Acute Care Surgery Conference Proceedings on 11–12 May 2017, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Contributors IWH, ERH, LJ: debater, manuscript editing. JJM: manuscript writing. TMS: conception, manuscript editing.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.