Purpose: Although thromboelastography is useful for measuring both coagulability and fibrinolysis, it takes about two hours to measure all parameters including fibrinolytic rate. The present study aimed to investigate the usefulness of celite-activated thromboelastography (TEGc) to evaluate fibrinolytic status in non-cardiac surgery.
Methods: Whole blood samples were obtained from 30 patients for non-cardiac surgery, and used for measurements of both native TEG (TEGn) and TEGc. The final concentration of 1% (w/v) celite was used for TEGc.
Results: Time for measurement of the fibrinolytic rate (FR) of TEGc in patients (56.7 +/- 4.0 min) was less than half that of FR of TEGn (123.3 +/- 15.6 min) (P < 0.05), suggesting a more rapid assessment of fibrinolytic status. A linear relationship was observed between FR values of TEGc and those of TEGn (r = 0.93, P < 0.0001), suggesting the usefulness of the fibrinolytic parameter of TEGc.
Conclusion: TEGc is a useful technique for a more rapid assessment of fibrinolytic status.