Predicting response to recombinant factor VIIa in non-haemophiliac patients with severe haemorrhage

Background Despite increasing use of recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) in non-haemophiliac patients, it is unclear when rFVIIa might be effective. Methods A single centre review of consecutive non-haemophiliac patients receiving rFVIIa for the management of severe haemorrhage. Treatments with rFVIIa were at a dose of 90 μg kg −1 repeated at three hourly intervals at the clinicians' discretion. Results Eighteen patients received rFVIIa. Six patients survived to discharge and 12 patients died in hospital. The median (range) Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score at the time of administration of rFVIIa for the group that survived was 8.0 (5–12) compared with the group that died 12.0 (7.0–14.0) ( P =0.03). One of the patients who survived (17%) had organ failure at the time of rFVIIa administration compared with 11 of those who died (92%) ( P =0.004). Fifteen patients survived long enough to consider a second dose of rFVIIa, one patient who survived to discharge needed more than one dose (1/6, 17%), compared with seven of those who later died in hospital (7/9, 78%) ( P =0.04). The survivors had a significant reduction in blood product requirements after rFVIIa, while patients who died did not. Neither the prothrombin time nor the activated partial thromboplastin time before or after rFVIIa predicted survival. Conclusions High SOFA score and failure to respond to one adequate dose of rFVIIa appear to identify patients with poor prognosis. These observations may help in determining when rFVIIa treatment is likely to be futile.