Thromboelastogram as a screening tool for hypercoagulabilityin traumatic brain injury

Excerpt

The term hypercoagulability has been randomly used to describe the increased risk of pathologic thrombus formation. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often complicated by life-threatening thromboembolic events [1]. In the trauma patient the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is estimated to be from 20% to 90% and to be 4–22% for pulmonary embolism (PE) [2]. The use of the thrombelastograph (TEG) has proven useful in determining an adult patient's coagulation status by measuring the enzymatic/protein elements of coagulation, platelet function, and fibrinolysis from a whole blood sample [3]. The purpose of this study is to compare the TEG as a screening tool for hypercoagulability against other known parameters. …