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More on Checking for Clots

Hi George. At Clarian, we still check every coag tube for a clot before running it on our analyzers. With our ever-increasing work load, I am debating whether or not to let this old habit of mine go. I have had techs run samples that are clotted to see what range of results I get […]

DIC and Shortened PTs and PTTs

This week I am helping to teach CLSC5124, Advanced Hemostasis, for Dr. Elaine Keohane at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. We have five advanced students in the class who are using our coagulation overview (1 and 2) and our cell-based hemostasis (9 and 10) modules. Yesterday Dr. Keohane passed along this question to Dr. Larry Smith, Director […]

Quick Question: Platelet Counts <10,000/uL

Our February Quick Question was, “How do you manage a platelet count below 10,000/uL? The answers were clear-cut: a. Confirm with a hemacytometer count: 3 (6%) b. Confirm with a blood film estimate: 40 (84%) c. Confirm on an alternate instrument: 2 (4%) d. Use no confirmation, report all platelet counts: 3 (6%) This confirms […]

More on the “The Big Easy Smile”

Here is a note from Liana McGowan about Rebuilding Together New Orleans: We are a program of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, and we having been repairing the homes of low-income elderly and disabled homeowners since 1988. After Hurricane Katrina, we focused our efforts into 5 target neighborhoods throughout New Orleans chosen for […]

Platelets Can Reproduce

The February 2 ASCLS Newsbytes referenced a United Press news release summarizing a Blood article that claims circulating platelets are able to reproduce by a beading process not previously demonstrated. Click the link to see the article. Geo.

Case Study: Neonatal Bleeding

Here is an interesting case study message from Boriana Parvez, a health care provider, location not provided. I’m caring for a full-term female neonate currently two weeks old who presented at three days of life with bilateral subdural bleeds and an intraparenchymal bleed. Her initial prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) were 73 […]

ClotCare Webinar

The Coalition to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis is hosting a free webinar on DVT issues today, Wednesday, January 27, 2010 from noon to 1:00 PM EST. The webinar is intended for patients and others wishing to learn about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT Coalition member and ClotCare Editorial Board member […]

Cumulative Summation Lot-to-Lots For PTTs

This message from Randy Trussell at Tenet Health arrived January 4. Randy, sorry for the delay, and I hope this is still helpful. (There is a direct response from Dr. Olson appended to the end of George’s response.) Our lab established the unfractionated heparin (UFH) therapeutic range last year using the Brill-Edwards approach. This year […]

Automated Ristocetin Cofactor

Here is a question I received early in January from Elpidio Pena. I apologize to Elpidio for letting this one slip through the cracks. George: our lab performs the ristocetin cofactor (VWF activity) assay using the traditional platelet aggregation method. We are planning to change instruments and one of the instruments we are considering performs […]

Therapeutic INR for Mechanical Heart Valves

Here are the results for last week’s Quick Question: What is your target INR therapeutic range for patients who have a mechanical heart valve? a. INR: 1.0-2.0: 2 (3.8%) b. INR: 2.0-3.0: 5 (9.6%) c. INR: 2.5-3.5: 40 (77.0%) d. INR: 3.0-4.0: 5 (9.6%) Unlike previous questions that functioned as surveys, this one has a […]

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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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