Heparin has been the mainstay of anticoagulation for ECMO patients for years.  In recent years, this has been challenged.  Bivalirudin has become a potential better anticoagulant.  Troy Seelhammer in EDECMO episode 55 gave us some insight into this.  This month Ryan Rivosecchi and his crew at UPitt have released their findings in Critical Care Medicine.  This retrospective study suggests great improvement in major bleeding in patients who received Bivalirudin compare to Heparin (40.7% vs 11.7%, p < 0.001).  Listen to Ryan and Zack discuss anticoagulant use in ECMO patients in this month’s episode.

Rivosecchi RM, Arakelians AR, Ryan J, Murray H, Padmanabhan R, Gomez H, Phillips D, Sciortino C, Arlia P, Freeman D, Sappington PL, Sanchez PG. Comparison of Anticoagulation Strategies in Patients Requiring Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Heparin Versus Bivalirudin. Crit Care Med. 2021 Mar 15. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000004944. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33711003.

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