The coagulopathy of liver disease is distinctly different from therapeutic anticoagulation in a patient. Despite stable elevated standard clot-based coagulation assays, nearly all patients with stable chronic liver disease (CLD) have normal or increased clotting. Common unfamiliarity with the limitations of these assays in CLD may lead to inappropriate and sometimes harmful interventions, including blood product transfusions before a procedure. Knowledge of the distinct hemostatic alterations in CLD can allow identification of the small subset of patients with clinically significant coagulopathy who can benefit from hematologic optimization before invasive procedures.
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