Inactivation of heparin during extracorporeal circulation in infants

Heparin anticoagulation is necessary to prevent clotting during procedures involving the extracorporeal circulation of blood. Our preliminary observations suggested that heparin was inactivated in the extracorporeal circuit during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. We tested this hypothesis by comparing heparin pharmacokinetics in five infants during extracorporeal circulation with kinetics, respectively determined in each patient and in the isolated circuit immediately after discontinuation of the procedure. Heparin clearance was 1.6 ± 0.5 ml/kg/min in the patient and 2.1 ± 0.8 ml/kg/min in the separated circuit. In each patient, the total of heparin clearances in the patient and circuit, 3.7 ± 1.0 ml/kg/min, was virtually identical with the heparin clearance during the procedure, 3.8 ± 1.9 ml/kg/min (r = 0.94, p < 0.01). We conclude that more than one half of the heparin administered to infants during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is eliminated by the extracorporeal circuit itself or by blood components in the circuit. These data explain the relatively large heparin doses needed to maintain anticoagulation in infants during extracorporeal circulation. In light of these findings, a reexamination of the normal mechanisms of elimination of heparin activity appears to be warranted.