Skip to main content

A question is “what are the optimal targets for anticoagulant therapies?”

Abstract

A high mortality rate is found among septic patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Anticoagulants have been used for treating septic DIC especially in Japanese clinical settings; however, their effectiveness is quite controversial across studies. According to several randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses, antithrombin and recombinant thrombomodulin had no therapeutic benefit in the treatment of sepsis. However, the majority of the previous research did not discuss “septic DIC” but simply “sepsis”, and some reviews showed that anticoagulants were benefit only in septic DIC. Although immunothrombosis plays an important role in early host defense, it can lead to DIC and organ failure if dysregulated. Therefore, we advocate anticoagulant therapies might have beneficial effects, but research on optimal patient selection is currently lacking.

Background

Sepsis is a very serious disease with approximately 35% of septic patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for DIC [1]. The Japanese sepsis registry revealed that the 28-day mortality rate and the hospital mortality rate for DIC patients were higher than those for non-DIC patients [2]. However, an unresolved clinical question is whether a specific treatment for septic DIC reduces mortality. In this review, we discuss anticoagulation therapy for those with septic DIC and its effectiveness.

Main body

Consistency of evidence

Antithrombin (AT) and recombinant thrombomodulin (rTM) are widely used in anticoagulant therapy for patients with septic DIC in Japanese clinical settings. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guideline (SSCG 2016) recommends that AT should not be used for septic patients (strong recommendation); these guidelines make no statements regarding rTM [3]. Nevertheless, this recommendation is intended for sepsis, but not for septic DIC. In the Japanese guideline for sepsis, AT is recommended for septic DIC patients with low AT activity [4]. This recommendation is based on a study that investigated patients with septic DIC [5].

In the large Kybersept RCT, AT did not improve survival prognosis but rather significantly increased bleeding complications [6]. However, this trial recruited patients with severe sepsis, including those with and without septic DIC. As a result, only 40.7% of patients (229 of 563) had DIC in the trial. This means that the conclusion may not be applicable to septic DIC patients. Similarly, a meta-analysis that evaluated a cohort from the Kybersept trial in 2016 did not demonstrate the effectiveness of AT [7]. On the contrary, a post-hoc analysis of this trial investigating septic DIC patients showed that AT improved survival prognosis profoundly [5]. More recently, Wiedermann performed a meta-analysis of its use in patients with sepsis and DIC and reported a beneficial effect of antithrombin on the mortality [8].

In regard to rTM, a phase 2b multinational randomized trial showed a better 28-day mortality [9], but a phase 3 SCARLET trial stated that it did not improve survival prognosis [10]. One reason is, similar to the trial on AT use, this trial included sepsis patients with abnormal coagulation, even though they did not fulfill the DIC criteria. Another reason is concomitant uses of heparin that counter a benefit of rTM. Although a recent meta-analysis including SCARLET trial found trend toward improved survival, this effect was not statistically significant [11]. Therefore, further rTM trials for septic DIC patients are desirable.

Two reviews made an attempt to reveal the effectiveness of anticoagulant therapy for those with septic DIC. In one review, Japanese septic patients were divided into three groups; group 1 consisted of those with normal coagulation, group 2 with abnormal coagulation (i.e., patients with a single coagulation-related parameter change), and group 3 consisted of those with DIC (i.e., patients who fulfilled any of the DIC diagnostic criteria). This particular review pointed out that the risk ratio for death was significantly reduced in group 3, but in groups 1 and 2, anticoagulant therapy was effective only in patients with septic DIC [12]. The other review summarized the septic DIC studies conducted in Japan. It presented survival curves according to patient profiles when anticoagulant therapy was applied. Improvement was observed only in the survival curve of patients with septic DIC or SOFA scores of 13–17 [13]. From these reviews, anticoagulants may be effective only for septic DIC, not for sepsis without DIC. To confirm this opinion, large prospective trials for anticoagulants are needed.

Immunothrombosis

Immunothrombosis is an immune response in which blood clots are formed to isolate bacterial infections [14]. It has several protective mechanisms, such as compartmentalizing pathogens inside the blood clots (thrombosis), working as a barricade to prevent their invasion and spreading, mobilizing immunological factors to kill pathogens, and activating leucocytes with fibrinogen and fibrin. When occurring locally, it is beneficial for the body. However, once getting beyond control, immunothrombosis contributes to aberrant thrombus formation and thrombotic diseases including DIC [15]. From this point of view, anticoagulant therapy may be necessary for those with septic DIC to modulate thrombotic reactions.

Furthermore, besides their anticoagulant effects, anticoagulant agents play an important role in immunomodulating and protecting vascular endothelium effects. For example, AT is effective in protecting the glycocalyx [16] because glycocalyx degeneration is known to be associated with the increased severity of sepsis [17].

Optimal targets of treatment for septic DIC

Septic DIC is the overexpression of the host defense system as discussed above, and it can cause organ failure. Evidences also showed that anticoagulants may be effective only for septic DIC patients. Therefore, we should use anticoagulants for septic DIC, not for sepsis. DIC is often diagnosed using the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM) DIC scoring system. However, the JAAM scoring system has a high sensitivity, but a low specificity. Therefore, this raises the question: How do we choose the best candidates for anticoagulant therapy? According to a recent article, Iba et al. stated that anticoagulant therapy was an important consideration in septic DIC and early and rapid diagnosis was important for this therapy [18]. In the other article, those with “sepsis,” “DIC,” and “high disease severity” might be optimal patients for anticoagulant therapy [19]. The authors of this article used SOFA or APACHE II scores to determine disease severity. This may be reasonable because these score reflect organ failure directly. However, without enough evidence, the authors recommended the need for new directions for future clinical research.

Conclusion

Research findings regarding anticoagulation methods and the effects of anticoagulants on vascular endothelium in those with dysregulated immunothrombosis and other research specifically focusing on septic DIC indicated the effectiveness of anticoagulant therapy for sepsis management. Therefore, future research should address the following question: “How do we apply this therapy for optimal targets?”

Availability of data and materials

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Abbreviations

AT:

Antithrombin

DIC:

Disseminated intravascular coagulation

JAAM:

Japanese Association for Acute Medicine

rTM:

Recombinant thrombomodulin

References

  1. Levi M, de Jonge E, van der Poll T. Sepsis and disseminated intravascular coagulation. J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2003;16(1–2):43–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ogura H, Gando S, Saitoh D, Takeyama N, Kushimoto S, Fujishima S, et al. Epidemiology of severe sepsis in Japanese intensive care units: a prospective multicenter study. J Infect Chemother. 2014;20(3):157–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Rhodes A, Evans LE, Alhazzani W, Levy MM, Antonelli M, Ferrer R, et al. Surviving sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock: 2016. Intensive Care Med. 2017;43(3):304–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Nishida O, Ogura H, Egi M, Fujishima S, Hayashi Y, Iba T, et al. The Japanese clinical practice guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2016 (J-SSCG 2016). J Intensive Care. 2018;6:7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Kienast J, Juers M, Wiedermann CJ, Hoffmann JN, Ostermann H, Strauss R, et al. Treatment effects of high-dose antithrombin without concomitant heparin in patients with severe sepsis with or without disseminated intravascular coagulation. J Thromb Haemost. 2006;4(1):90–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Warren BL, Eid A, Singer P, Pillay SS, Carl P, Novak I, et al. Caring for the critically ill patient. High-dose antithrombin III in severe sepsis: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2001;286(15):1869–78.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Allingstrup M, Wetterslev J, Ravn FB, Møller AM, Afshari A. Antithrombin III for critically ill patients: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. Intensive Care Med. 2016;42(4):505–20.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wiedermann CJ. Antithrombin concentrate use in disseminated intravascular coagulation of sepsis: meta-analyses revisited. J Thromb Haemost. 2018;16(3):455–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Vincent JL, Ramesh MK, Ernest D, LaRosa SP, Pachl J, Aikawa N, Kaul I. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin, ART-123, in patients with sepsis and suspected disseminated intravascular coagulation. Crit Care Med. 2013;41(9):2069–79.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Vincent JL, Francois B, Zabolotskikh I, Daga MK, Lascarrou JB, Kirov MY, et al. Effect of a recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin on mortality in patients with sepsis-associated coagulopathy: the SCARLET randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2019. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1001/jama.2019.5358.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Yamakawa K, Murao S, Aihara M. Recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin in sepsis-induced coagulopathy: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Thromb Haemost. 2019;119(1):56–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Umemura Y, Yamakawa K, Ogura H, Yuhara H, Fujimi S. Efficacy and safety of anticoagulant therapy in three specific populations with sepsis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Thromb Haemost. 2016;14(3):518–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hayakawa M, Ono K. A summary of the Japan septic disseminated intravascular coagulation study. Acute Med Surg. 2018;5(2):123–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Engelmann B, Massberg S. Thrombosis as an intravascular effector of innate immunity. Nat Rev Immunol. 2013;13(1):34–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Gaertner F, Massberg S. Blood coagulation in immunothrombosis—at the frontline of intravascular immunity. Semin Immunol. 2016;28(6):561–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Iba T, Levy JH, Hirota T, Hiki M, Sato K, Murakami T, Nagaoka I. Protection of the endothelial glycocalyx by antithrombin in an endotoxin-induced rat model of sepsis. Thromb Res. 2018;171:1–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Iba T, Thachil J. Present and future of anticoagulant therapy using antithrombin and thrombomodulin for sepsis-associated disseminated intravascular coagulation: a perspective from Japan. Int J Hematol. 2016;103(3):253–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Iba T, Levy JH, Raj A, Warkentin TE. Advance in the management of sepsis-induced coagulopathy and disseminated intravascular coagulation. J Clin Med. 2019;8(5):728.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Umemura Y, Yamakawa K. Optimal patient selection for anticoagulant therapy in sepsis: an evidence-based proposal from Japan. J Thromb Haemost. 2018;16(3):462–4.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Not applicable

Funding

None

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

NY participated in the design of the study and drafted manuscript. ST participated in the design of the study and coordination of research members. MY helped draft manuscript and conceived composition of the study. KK, AA, TH, SK, KO, YS, and TG participated in the design of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shunsuke Takaki.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yokoyama, N., Takaki, S., Yokose, M. et al. A question is “what are the optimal targets for anticoagulant therapies?”. j intensive care 8, 17 (2020). https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1186/s40560-020-0434-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1186/s40560-020-0434-9

Keywords