DOI: 10.1177/0267659115579714

prf.sagepub.com Identification of acquired coagulation disorders and effects of target-controlled coagulation factor substitution on the incidence and severity of spontaneous intracranial bleeding during veno-venous ECMO therapy J Kalbhenn,1 N Wittau,2 A Schmutz,1 B Zieger3 and R Schmidt4 Introduction: Intracranial haemorrhage is a redoubtable complication during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. The underlying mechanisms of haemorrhagic diathesis are still not completely understood. This study was performed to evaluate a coagulation protocol for the regular analysis of acquired coagulation disorders and the systematic substitution of coagulation factors to reach predefined target values. We hypothesised that using this strategy would lead to the identification of acquired bleeding disorders which cannot be monitored with standard coagulatio