ABSTRACT
U nderstand ing the use o f p rohem ostatic pharm acological agents is im p o rtan t, since they m ay be effective in reducing allogeneic b lood exposure in certain p a tien t populations. T he range an d types o f p roducts used varies, an d the evidence for therapeu tic efficacy is based on em piric clinical experience show ing a reduc tion in bleeding in som e instances and, in o thers, using surrogate m arkers for bleeding, such as the bleeding tim e. A classification is show n in Table 23.1.
