Even though unfractionated heparin (UFH) remains the gold standard for the management of anticoagulation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), alternatives to UFH are required in some rare circumstances (eg, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia [HIT] or heparin resistance). When UFH is contraindicated or needs to be avoided, parenteral direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs), argatroban and bivalirudin, are considered the first-line alternatives. The use of these agents requires additional understanding of their background, pharmacology, monitoring, and potential side effects. Following the publication of large clinical trials in early 2000s, bivalirudin became an alternative to UFH during percutaneous coronary intervention. 1 In 2004, a pilot investigation compared bivalirudin to UFH in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) surgery. 2 Dosing of bivalirudin followed the percutaneous coronary intervention protocols. Although the safety profile in both arms was comparable (eg, bleeding, blood products transfusion, and myocardial infarction), an improved graft patency after 3 months was observed in patients anticoagulated with bivalirudin. Based on these results, bivalirudin was studied further in patients undergoing OPCAB and on-pump CAGB surgery employing a new dosing regimen. 3 Although bivalirudin never has been approved by the Federal Drug Agency, bivalirudin anticoagulation has been recommended since 2008 as the first-line strategy in patients with acute HIT requiring urgent cardiac surgery. 4 A large number of case reports and case series also have described the use and further development of the drug under special conditions, like with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or ventricular assist device. Not surprisingly, there are currently no Federal Drug Agency-approved indications for the use of DTIs in the pediatric population. 5 However, DTIs sometimes are used for anticoagulation during CPB or ECMO in the pediatric cardiac population. The increase in utilization occurred despite Contents lists available at ScienceDirect