PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Hayden White
AU  - Robert Bird
AU  - Kellie Sosnowski
AU  - Mark Jones
TI  - An in vitro analysis of the effect of acidosis on coagulation in chronic disease states – a thromboelastograph study
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.16-3-230
DP  - 2016 Jun 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 230--234
VI  - 16
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/16/3/230.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/16/3/230.full
SO  - Clin Med2016 Jun 01; 16
AB  - Thrombosis is a complication of many chronic illnesses. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes mellitus are common medical conditions frequently associated with a hypercoagulable state. Acidaemia has been shown to reduce coagulation. COPD and diabetes mellitus during acute deterioration can present with a severe acidaemia. The impact of this acidaemia on coagulation is poorly studied. Patients presenting with a diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis or type II respiratory failure from COPD and a pH of less than 7.2 were included in our study. A coagulation screen and a thromboelastograph (TEG) were performed on admission and 24 hours later. The mean pH on admission was 7.07 and mean base excess was –16.3. The activated partial thromboplastin time was associated with pH change but remained within the normal range (26–41 s). All other coagulation and TEG parameters failed to show evidence of association (p>0.05). In the two models of non-haemorrhagic acidosis investigated, coagulation was not altered by the changes in pH. More work is needed to understand the complex relationship between factors affecting coagulation in individual disease processes.