Start Date: ,
End Date: ,
Click here to purchase the article.
Unfractionated heparin is widely used as an anticoagulant for extracorporeal life support (ECLS) and usually monitored with activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). Due to its limitations in pediatric populations and interferences with monitoring, bivalirudin is being utilized more frequently in these settings. For bivalirudin, other tests have emerged such as dilute thrombin time (dTT) and ecarin chromogenic assay (ECA); however, their utilities in pediatrics are unexplored. Development of suitable, accurate testing for bivalirudin monitoring is paramount to prevent complications. We sought to compare aPTT, aPTT with heparinase (HPTT), dTT1:4, modified dTT1:10, and ECA for monitoring of pediatric ECLS patients anticoagulated with bivalirudin.