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Abstract
To determine whether randomization of patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to either therapeutic or a low-dose anticoagulation protocol results in a difference in activated partial thromboplastin time and anti-Xa.
Randomized, controlled, unblinded study.
Two ICUs of two university hospitals.
Patients admitted to the ICU, who required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (venovenous or venoarterial) and who did not have a preexisting indication for therapeutic anticoagulation.
Therapeutic anticoagulation with heparin (target activated partial thromboplastin time between 50 and 70 s) or lower dose heparin (up to 12,000 U/24 hr aiming for activated partial thromboplastin time < 45 s).
Thirty-two patients were randomized into two study groups that were not significantly different in demographics and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation characteristics. There was a significant difference in the daily geometric mean heparin dose (11,742 U [95% CI, 8,601–16,031 U] vs 20,710 U [95% CI, 15,343–27,954 U]; p = 0.004), daily geometric mean activated partial thromboplastin time (48.1 s [95%