Use of fibrin sealant to reduce bleeding after needle liver biopsy in an anticoagulated canine model: Work in progress

PURPOSE: Needle biopsy of the liver is a common diagnostic procedure. Altho ugh relatively safe, bleeding remains a potential complication and may occu r more frequently in patients with coagulopathy, The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of a fibrin sealant in preventing bleeding afte r a 15-gauge needle biopsy of the liver in a canine model heparinized to si mulate coagulopathy, MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fibrin sealant was delivered to biopsy tract sites i n eight dogs anticoagulated with heparin (activated clotting time 387 secon ds +/- 94) using the same sheath system that was employed to obtain the bio psy specimen. RESULTS: The results demonstrated complete hemostasis in the sealant-plugge d tracts as compared to controls. Continuous bleeding was observed in none of the fibrin sealant-treated sites, compared with all of the control biops y sites (P = .0078), CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the high degree of efficacy of fibrin sealant delivered through a sheath system in plugging liver biopsy tracts and eliminating bleeding in a severely coagulopathic animal model. This ind icates that fibrin sealant use in cutting needle biopsies can reduce major and minor complications associated with the procedure.