Correction of both prothrombin time and primary haemostasis by recombinant factor VII during therapeutic alcohol injection of hepatocellular cancer in liver cirrhosis.

We evaluated the efficacy of recombinant factor VII to correct impaired haemostasis in a patient with liver cirrhosis requiring an invasive procedure. A test intravenous bolus of 80 microg/kg of recombinant factor VII was given to a Jehovah's Witness, with a solitary 4.4-cm hepatocellular carcinoma and underlying hepatitis C virus cirrhosis, in an attempt to correct his haemostatic disorders and safely inject the tumour with alcohol. An extensive portal block had precluded consideration of liver transplantation. Haemostasis was evaluated by clotting assays, bleeding time and thromboelastography 10 min before and 10 min and 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 h after factor VII infusion. Parameters of both coagulation (prothrombin time) and platelet function (bleeding time and the alpha and ma parameters of thrombelastography) were improved 10 min after factor VII infusion; improvements lasted 4 to 8 h or more. Platelet count did not change and there was no evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The improvements in haemostatic parameters correlated significantly with the increases in factor VII plasma concentrations (p<0.04). Factor VII clearance was 25.1 U/h/kg and its half-life was 5.8 h. The same dose of recombinant factor VII was given to the patient 1 week later, just before the alcohol injections. The patient had no subsequent bleeding or other complication, with no change in haemoglobin levels over 24 h. Thus, recombinant factor VII represents a therapeutic advance, as it can correct fully both coagulation and platelet function defects in cirrhosis and allow invasive procedures to be performed safely.