Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is associated with a high risk of mortality in critical COVID-19 patients receiving heparin-involved treatment

Autor: Xuan Liu, Xiaopeng Zhang, Yongjiu Xiao, Ting Gao, Guangfei Wang, Zhongyi Wang, Zhang Zhang, Yong Hu, Qincai Dong, Songtao Zhao, Li Yu, Shuwei Zhang, Hongzhen Li, Kaitong Li, Wei Chen, Xiuwu Bian, Qing Mao, Cheng Cao
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
DOI: 10.1101/2020.04.23.20076851
Popis: SummaryBackgroundCoronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) has developed into a global pandemic. It is essential to investigate the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 and uncover potential risk factors for severe disease to reduce the overall mortality rate of COVID-19.MethodsSixty-one critical COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and 93 severe non-ICU patients at Huoshenshan Hospital (Wuhan, China) were included in this study. Medical records, including demographic, platelet counts, heparin-involved treatments, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-(HIT) related laboratory tests, and fatal outcomes of COVID-19 patients were analyzed and compared between survivors and nonsurvivors.FindingsSixty-one critical COVID-19 patients treated in ICU included 15 survivors and 46 nonsurvivors. Forty-one percent of them (25/61) had severe thrombocytopenia, with a platelet count (PLT) less than 50×109/L, of whom 76% (19/25) had a platelet decrease of >50% compared to baseline; 96% of these patients (24/25) had a fatal outcome. Among the 46 nonsurvivors, 52·2% (24/46) had severe thrombocytopenia, compared to 6·7% (1/15) among survivors. Moreover, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) could induce a significant decrease in PLT in 81·3% of critical CRRT patients (13/16), resulting in a fatal outcome. In addition, a high level of anti-heparin-PF4 antibodies, a marker of HIT, was observed in most ICU patients. Surprisingly, HIT occurred not only in patients with heparin exposure, such as CRRT, but also in heparin-naïve patients, suggesting that spontaneous HIT may occur in COVID-19.InterpretationAnti-heparin-PF4 antibodies are induced in critical COVID-19 patients, resulting in a progressive platelet decrease. Exposure to a high dose of heparin may trigger further severe thrombocytopenia with a fatal outcome. An alternative anticoagulant other than heparin should be used to treat COVID-19 patients in critical condition.FundingThis investigation was supported by grants 2016CB02400 and 2017YFC1201103 from the National Major Research and Development Program of China.
Databáze: OpenAIRE