Editorial comment: When we “act” on ACT levels: Activated clotting time measurements to guide heparin administration during and after interventional procedures
✍ Scribed by Klein, Lloyd W. ;Agarwal, Jai B.
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 350 KB
- Volume
- 37
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0098-6569
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
As illustrated by three articles in this issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Diagnosis [ 12-14], there remain significant differences between interventionists in how ACT measurements should be made and how they are measured. For example, the therapeutic goal has been defined variably to ranges between 275-400 sec [15]. The appropriate ACT level in conjunction with new device procedures has never been formally evaluated. Finally, sheath removal after routine catheterization, balloon pumping, and angioplasty is increasingly guided by the ACT-all based on unpublished observation. What ACT value assures appropriate anticoagulation in balloon angioplasty, and is this level the same in all interventions and in all clinical contexts? Must the ACT fall to baseline prior to sheath removal in non-stent procedures?