The Composition and Physical Properties of Clots in COVID-19 Pathology

Sierk Dauwerse; Hugo Ten Cate; Henri M H Spronk; Magdolna Nagy

doi:10.3390/diagnostics12030580

The Composition and Physical Properties of Clots in COVID-19 Pathology

Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Feb 24;12(3):580. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12030580.

Authors

Sierk Dauwerse¹, Hugo Ten Cate^{2

3

4}, Henri M H Spronk^{1

2

3}, Magdolna Nagy¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.
³ Thrombosis Expertise Centre (TEC), Heart+Vascular Center, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands.
⁴ Center for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Gutenberg University Medical Center, 55131 Mainz, Germany.

Abstract

Hemostasis is a finely tuned process of which dysregulation can lead either to bleeding or thrombotic complications. The latter is often caused by the hypercoagulable state as it is also seen in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, i.e., in COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization often suffer from thrombotic events that could not be predicted using routine coagulation assays. Recently, several studies have reported ROtational ThromboElastoMetry (ROTEM) as a promising tool to predict outcomes in COVID-19 patients. In this review we give an overview of ROTEM with a particular focus on the interpretation of the symmetrical clot formation curve in relation to coagulopathy in COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, we have introduced new parameters that might help to better distinguish between COVID-19 patients and outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; ROTEM; hypercoagulability.

Publication types

Review