Thromboelastographic Guide for Blood Products in Cirrhotics

Blood products are commonly used before invasive procedures in patients with end-stage liver diseases despite cirrhosis being a thrombophylic state. Traditional coagulation tests (namely INR and PLTs count) are known to be unreliable in predicting bleeding risk before invasive procedures and in representing the real coagulation status of cirrhotic patients. Notwithstanding they are still used to guide blood products administration before invasive procedures. Thromboelastography (TEG) has been shown to be effective in detecting signs of hypo-hypercoagulability possibly being an alternative method to guide blood products transfusion. The aim of this randomized controlled study was to evaluate the efficacy of TEG as a guide for blood products transfusion in cirrhotic patients undergoing invasive procedures.