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Discard Tube?

I was aked by my lab director if there is a valid reason for drawing a 3-5 mL discard tube before drawing a platelet function assay tube? After a limited search, I can find no information supporting the theory of drawing a discard tube before any coagulation test. What are your thoughts? Hello, and thank […]

Quick Question: Monitoring Pradaxa

Dabigatran (Pradaxa®, Boehringer-Ingelheim) was approved in 2008 in Europe and Canada for prevention of venous thromboembolic disease following hip- or knee-replacement surgery and cleared by the US FDA for prevention of ischemic stroke in atrial fibrillation in October, 2010. Our latest quick question asks, how do you intend to monitor it? As you answer, if you […]

Factor II Deficiency in a Newborn

On June 28, this comment was appended by “nomorefede” to a

Rivaroxaban Cleared in US July 1, 2011

As reported in Theheart,org, The United States Food and Drug Administration announced clearance on July 1, 2011 of rivaroxaban, (Xarelto), the first oral direct anti-Xa anticoagulant. Xarelto, to be marketed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc, is cleared for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis in patients with total hip replacement or total knee replacement surgery. This is the second […]

June 2011 Quick Question: Antithrombotics

Here’s a summary of our June, 2011 Quick Question: Which antithrombotic monitoring problem happens the most often in your laboratory? a. Unexplained INR variation: 14 (29%0 b. Trouble correlating lab INR with POC INR: 4 (8%) c. Heparin; is it UFH, LWMH, or pentasaccharide: 7 (14%) d. Need a way to monitor antithrombins like argatroban: […]

Unexplained Prolonged PT and PTT

From “ssusko”: I have a question about an extremely perplexing patient. She is a 49 year old female who came in through the ED. She had a moderately decreased H&H (HGB 8.9, HCT 26.3) and a normal platelet count. However, her prothrombin time (PT) was through the roof—we could not get a reading as it […]

Phase 3 Apixaban Data from Pfizer/BMS

On June 22, Pfizer/Bristol-Myers Squibb released preliminary data on apixaban (Eliquis) indicating non-inferiority to warfarin. Click Heartwire for the report.

Slightly Prolonged PTT and Mixing Studies

From “Tom,” Recently, I did some lab tests. I don’t have any family history of bleeding problems, just some red spot on my skin made me go to see a doctor. CBC is all good. PTT: 38.5s (reference: 24.3–36.2s) PTT 4:1 NP: 37.2s after 1 hr incubation PTT 4:1 NP: 38.2 Factor VIII: 43% von […]

Freezing and the Thrombin Clotting Time

This is a message from Mary Dugal, Precision BioLogic Inc Account Manager: During a recent meeting, a customer of mine described the following anomaly and I’m posting this question to you on her behalf. “When performing comparisons with the intention of switching to a different concentration of thrombin clotting time (TCT, TT) reagent, we noticed the results […]

Halifax and Nova Scotia

A personal note from George thanking the folks at Precision BioLogic Inc for their kind hospitality June 10-13 at the office in Dartmouth and for the good treatment I received at the Halifax Convention Center during the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science National Congress of Medical Laboratory Science, LABCON of 2011. While visiting, I had the […]

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George Fritsma is a medical laboratory scientist, educator, and author. George is a member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, the International Society for Laboratory Hematology, and the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

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