Antiplatelet monitoring in children on VAD support
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Monitoring of antiplatelet therapy in children on ventricular assist device support: comparison of Multiplate® and TEG® Platelet Mapping™ assays
IRAS ID
201753
Contact name
LEE P FERGUSON
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
Children with severe heart failure and supported with a mechanical heart pump (ventricular assist device, VAD) as bridge to transplantation are at high risk of stroke due to device-related clotting. Antiplatelet drugs, such as aspirin and clopidogrel, are routinely given to reduce the risk of clotting. There is currently no gold standard method for measuring the effectiveness of antiplatelet therapy. TEG® Platelet Mapping™ is the most widely used test in the paediatric VAD setting. However, it lacks validated target ranges and its reliability has been questioned. The Multiplate® assay is a newer laboratory test that measures the effect of antiplatelet therapy and may be more reliable. The Multiplate® assay was introduced at our institution in early 2015. All children supported with VAD at our centre have routine measurement of platelet inhibition with both TEG® Platelet Mapping™ and Multiplate® tests as part of their clinical care to help assess the efficacy of antiplatelet therapy.
We aim to investigate the agreement between TEG® Platelet Mapping™ and Multiplate® tests in children supported with VAD. The study is a retrospective case note review. We will review the medical records and collect the antiplatelet medication history and the results of the platelet function tests. We will compare the effects of aspirin and clopidogrel measured using Multiplate® and TEG® Platelet Mapping™ assays to assess the reliability of the tests. The study will help to determine the most reliable laboratory assay of antiplatelet therapy in children supported with VAD.REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0672
Date of REC Opinion
7 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion