hyperakuutti

Hyperakuutti is a Finnish term that translates to hyperacute in English. It is used in medical and scientific contexts to describe events or processes with extremely rapid onset or progression, typically occurring within minutes to hours after exposure or onset. In Finnish biomedical literature, hyperakuutti often denotes the earliest phase of a condition or the immediate reaction following a trigger.

A central usage is hyperacute rejection in organ transplantation. Hyperacute rejection is a rapid, often irreversible loss of a transplanted organ caused by preformed recipient antibodies against donor antigens, most commonly ABO or HLA antigens. It usually develops within minutes to hours after reperfusion. The pathophysiology involves antibody binding, complement activation, endothelial injury, and swift thrombosis of graft vessels. Prevention relies on careful donor–recipient matching and antibody screening, including ABO and HLA compatibility, and may involve desensitization procedures. If hyperacute rejection occurs, management typically requires urgent removal or retransplantation of the graft, and the prognosis for the original graft is poor.

Beyond transplantation, hyperakuutti can describe other very early or time-critical phases of diseases. In stroke and other acute care settings, the term is sometimes used to emphasize the first hours after onset, a period during which interventions such as thrombolysis or mechanical thrombectomy are most effective. English-language literature generally uses hyperacute to convey the same concept.

See also: hyperacute rejection, crossmatching, ABO incompatibility, HLA antibodies.