Perioperative continuous infusions of factor VIII versus factor IX for patients with hemophilia A or B undergoing major surgery

Continuous factor VIII (FVIII) or factor IX (FIX) infusions are commonly used for patients with hemophilia A (HA) or B (HB) undergoing surgery to secure perioperative hemostasis. To describe differences between the initial recovery and subsequent FIX and FVIII levels, and describe clinical outcomes among HB and HA patients receiving perioperative continuous infusion (CI) of recombinant FVIII and FIX concentrates. Retrospective chart review was conducted on 8 consecutive patients with HB and 7 consecutive patients with HA who underwent major surgery between 2014 and 2018 and received continuous infusions of standard half-life factor concentrate. Median initial bolus dose per kilogram was higher for HB compared to HA patients [90.8 (IQR 78.0–98.7) vs. 52.1 (IQR 48.6–55.6) IU/kg], while initial CI dose-rates were similar [4.3 (IQR 3.8–4.6) vs. 4.2 (IQR 3.8–4.4) IU/kg/h]. Median post-bolus recovery was higher for FVIII compared to FIX [1.70 (IQR 1.23–1.75) vs. 0.88 (IQR 0.75–1.00) IU/mL]. Median factor levels also were higher for FVIII on post-operative days 1 to 3. HB patients had greater mean intraoperative estimated blood loss [285.7 (range 0–1000) vs. 142.8 (range 0–400) mL] and longer median length of hospital stay [9 (IQR 8–12) vs. 5 (IQR 4–6.5) days]. Our initial evidence suggests greater in vivo yield of rFVIII compared to rFIX in the perioperative setting. We identified poorer clinical outcomes in this small cohort of perioperative HB patients indicating that they may benefit from a higher CI rate for adequate surgical hemostatic coverage. Graphical abstract