Cardiothoracic & vascular anesthesia
Residual Heparinization After Cardiac Surgery:A Prospective Observational Study
Authors' conclusion
Residual heparinization occurred frequently following cardiac surgery, without a demonstrated difference in postoperative bleeding compared with control patients.
Study context
- Population
- Adults undergoing elective or emergency cardiac surgery with CPB, quaternary teaching hospital, Melbourne, Australiaincluded in the analysis
- Participants
- 99 adults
- Outcome
- Proportion of patients with residual heparin activity on thromboelastography (delta-R ≥4 minutes)
- Follow-up
- 2 hours after return to ICU
Methodological detailssingle-centre
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Residual heparinization (delta-R ≥4 minutes on thromboelastography) · 2 hours after ICU return
Residual heparinization
27.3%
27 events
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
Postoperative bleeding, with vs without residual heparin effect
- No differences detected in postoperative bleeding
Factors contributing to residual heparinization
- Higher total intraoperative heparin doses associated with postoperative heparin activity
Postoperative bleeding (residual heparinization subgroup, delta-R ≥4 minutes)
- Significant association of delta-R with postoperative bleeding
Original publication
Residual Heparinization After Cardiac Surgery:A Prospective Observational Study. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. Published 10 July 2025. doi:10.
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