Global Coagulation Assessment in Cirrhosis and ACLF

Background: Patients with cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) may have bleeding complications which can lead to increased mortality. Standard coagulation tests (SCTs) like prothrombin time, platelet count and activated partial thromboplastin do not accurately depict in vivo coagulation profile. Point-of-care viscoelastic coagulation testing devices like thrombo-elastography (TEG) and Sonoclot may be better for guiding patient management. Methods: This prospective observational study compared and validated the point of care (POC) tests and SCTs in 70, 72 and 25 persons with ACLF, decompensated cirrhosis and healthy controls respectively.