Fibrinogen in Liver Transplant

Fibrinogen is an important factor for hemostasis and when it is deficient or dysfunctional replacing it will improve hemostasis and reduce bleeding. Observational data indicates the use of cryoprecipitate as a source of fibrinogen may reduce bleeding and improve outcomes in patients with severe bleeding. Liver transplant patients often become hypofibrinogenemic and may benefit from early goal directed use of cryoprecipitate or IFC. IFC can be more readily available since it can be stored at room temperature compared to cryoprecipitate which requires thawing. As a result, IFC can be immediately available when indicated compared to the delay in administration of cryoprecipitate due to the need for it to be thawed. This trial will compare clinical outcomes for subjects randomized to either cryoprecipitate or IFC in bleeding liver transplant patients with reduced fibrinogen function. There is no data comparing outcomes for subjects receiving IFC or cryoprecipitate in any patient population. The rationale for this trial is to compare IFC to cryoprecipitate (cryo) to assist with the design of a future definitive multicenter trial. Potential advantages of IFC are that since it is stored at room temperature it can be made immediately available whereas with cryo the delay in treatment can be 30 to 40 min due to the need to thaw it from a frozen state. The reduced time to treatment of bleeding may improve outcomes with the use of IFC compared to cryo. In vitro data indicates similar hemostatic function between IFC and Cryo. IFC is pathogen reduced cryoprecipitate. The pathogen reduction methods are licensed for IFC and there has been no safety concerns regarding its use at the centers that are currently using it as their standard product (unpublished).