The use of activated recombinant factor VII in a patient with fulminant hepatic failure requiring placement of an intracranial pressure monitor.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in a patient with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) requiring placement of an intracranial pressure monitor.

CASE SUMMARY

A 21-year-old female with no significant medical history was admitted to an outside hospital with elevated results of liver function tests. Subsequently, the patient was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. Systemic corticosteroids were started, but her condition continued to decompensate. She was transferred to our tertiary care facility 5 days after initial presentation. The liver function test results remained elevated (eg, total bilirubin 27 mg/dL), and international normalized ratio (INR) was 3.57. The medical team decided to place an intracranial pressure monitor, with the neurosurgery team's goal being an INR less than 1.5 before placement of the monitor. After multiple units of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) failed to lower the patient's INR, rFVIIa 40 μg/kg was administered. A rapid decrease of the INR allowed the neurosurgery team to perform the procedure without complications.

DISCUSSION

The use of rFVIIa allowed for decrease of this patient's INR after multiple units of FFP had failed to correct it. The utility of INR as a marker of coagulopathy in fulminant hepatic failure has been debated, but it is currently used as the standard laboratory test prior to invasive procedures, as in the case presented here.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of rFVIIa for rapid decrease of INR in a patient with FHF prior to an invasive procedure was safe and efficacious. When considering the use of rFVIIa, clinicians should be aware of the risk of thrombosis. In our experience, and in the limited literature on the matter, rFVIIa 40 μg/kg appears to be an appropriate dose for decrease of the INR. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.