Media Release
Udupi, Jan 18: Kasturba Medical College and Hospital, Manipal, hosted a highly informative symposium on Goal-Directed Bleeding Management, organised by the Department of Immunohaematology and Blood Transfusion in collaboration with Werfen Academy.
The event brought together medical experts to discuss cutting-edge strategies in bleeding management, focusing particularly on Patient Blood Management (PBM) and Rotational Thromboelastometry (ROTEM).
The symposium was inaugurated by Dr Anand Venugopal, COO of Teaching Hospitals, MAHE, Manipal, in the presence of Dr Anil Bhat, associate dean (KMC Manipal); Dr Ajay Gandhi, Werfen Academy; Dr Shamee Shastry, professor, IHBT (KMC Manipal); and Dr Ganesh Mohan, professor and head, IHBT (KMC Manipal).
The event began with a keynote lecture by Dr Ajay Gandhi on ROTEM as the gold standard tool in Goal-Directed Bleeding Management. Dr Gandhi highlighted the importance of point-of-care testing in assessing the coagulation status of bleeding patients, stressing PBM’s core principles: optimizing red cell mass, minimising blood loss, and improving tolerance to anaemia.
Dr Ganesh Mohan then presented on hospital practices and protocols, outlining evidence-based approaches for creating individualised care plans to address coagulopathy, the importance of rationale transfusions, and enhancing patient outcomes.
Interactive case-based discussions formed a key component of the symposium, allowing participants to analyse real-world clinical scenarios through audience polls.
The final morning session, led by Dr Deepika Chenna, focused on the health economics of Goal-Directed Bleeding Management, demonstrating how PBM can reduce healthcare costs while improving patient outcomes and reducing morbidity and mortality.
In the post-lunch session, a multidisciplinary panel discussion featured experts from Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Anaesthesia, surgery, critical care, emergency medicine, Haematology, and transfusion medicine.
The panel addressed critical issues such as massive transfusion management, anticoagulant-related bleeding, and the implementation of goal-directed protocols. Experts underscored the value of ROTEM/TEG in optimising patient blood management, particularly for stable patients, reducing the need for transfusions.
The day concluded with an open house discussion where audience questions were addressed, and participants shared their clinical experiences of using ROTEM in patient management.
The symposium underscored the growing importance of integrating PBM and ROTEM into routine clinical practices. It reaffirmed the commitment to improving patient safety, optimising outcomes, and achieving cost efficiency in healthcare.
The event also highlighted KMC Manipal’s dedication to advancing medical care and provided a vital platform for knowledge exchange among healthcare professionals.