Exogenous bovine thrombin as a biomarker of exposure and outcome.
Bovine thrombin has been used for more than 60 years as a surgical hemostat and sealant. Rare postsurgical events have been attributed to antibovine thrombin immunoglobulins cross-reacting with human homologs. In a literature review of 37 papers reporting safety outcomes in surgical patients, we extracted each paper for a quantitative measurement of bovine thrombin exposure and coagulopathic outcomes. We found that 59.5% of papers documented the commercial source of bovine thrombin and only 19% provided an estimate of exposure in units. Conventional tests for hypocoagulation were common (86%); however, only 9% of papers confirmed this inhibition as an isolated antibody. In addition, only 9% of papers cited a specific biomarker for thrombosis.
Crean
Sheila M
SM
Epidemiologist, Health Care Analytics Group, United BioSource Corporation, 101 Station Landing, Medford, MA, USA. sheila.crean@unitedbiosource.com
Michels
Shannon L
SL
Reynolds
Matthew W
MW
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D002417:Cattle; D006801:Humans; D013917:Thrombin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019851:Thrombophilia / Q000378:metabolism; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D015415:Biomarkers; D013917:Thrombin