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Covid and Porphyrin

This is an “off-label” post, as it doesn’t directly address hemostasis, however, on April 6, Ari Elman, MD, Hem-Onc at Greater Baltimore Medical Center wrote, “As I’m sure you have, I have been reading report after report regarding these patients and trying to find some understanding of the pathophysiology that might help in treatment. A […]

More on Covid Specimen Management

Please refer to our April 6, 2020 Covid discussion [click or tap] for a valuable 6 PM comment from Precision BioLogic friend and colleague, Ali Sadeghi-Khomami, who directs Precision’s research team, Ali has provided valuable specimen management information. Meanwhile, the following is a helpful follow-up on the topic of standard precautions, or what George still […]

Specimen Management

Covid Specimen Storage

From friend and colleague, Heather DeVries, Indiana University Health: Hi, George. As I am sure you are aware, we are seeing some very high dimers now surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. An email was sent from one of our sites to the entire system that they may want to save those samples for future validation studies […]

Specimen Management

WFH: COVID and Bleeding April 9

Again with thanks to Elaine Benoit, Precision BioLogic Inc, for the following information, the World Federation of Hemophilia presents a webinar on Bleeding Disorders and Covid-19 [Click or Tap] Thursday, April 9 at 10 AM EDT.

Bleeding Disorders

ISTH Academy

Thanks to Elaine Benoit, Precision BioLogic Inc., for this heads-up, the ISTH Academy is offering free access to all their materials [click or tap]. You need only create a free account to have access to articles, webinars, and online events. Geo

April, 2020 Quick Question: HEMLIBRA

With the rapid onset of game-changing injectable emicizumab [HEMLIBRA] therapy for hemophilia, coagulation laboratories face a new challenge. On the occasions when HEMLIBRA-treated hemophiliacs need factor VIII concentrate therapy, or if there is a desire to test for residual factor VIII, what means does the laboratory possess? Likewise, the clinician may need a means to […]

Bleeding Disorders

March 2020 Quick Question Summary

Our March, 2020 Quick Question, “How does your facility measure extended half-life factor VIII concentrate therapy?” drew 24 votes, reflecting the number of laboratories serving Hemophilia and Bleeding Disorders services worldwide. Here are the answers: A. One-stage clot-based FVIII assay 46% [11] B. Two-stage chromogenic FVIII assay 42% [10] C. We don’t measure, assays are […]

Bleeding Disorders

AC Clinics and Covid-19

The Anticoagulation Forum conducted a webinar on Wednesday, March 25 entitled Management of Warfarin Patients Who Have Difficulty Getting INR Testing During COVID-19 Pandemic. Click or tap the title to see the recorded presentation, which centers on Warfarin management. Here are a few takeaways from the webinar, please feel free to add your observations below. […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

EHL Factor IX Assays

Today, March 23, 2020, the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology released a study describing the clinical efficacy attributes of PTT-based one-stage clotting assays and two-stage chromogenic assays for the extended half-life factor IX concentrate, Alprolix. Click or tap the citation for the open-access article. Thank you to Dr. Ali Sadeghi-Khomami, Precision BioLogic Inc. for the […]

Bleeding Disorders

DIC in COVID-19 Pneumonia

Here is a JTH free-access brief report that illustrates mortality-related DIC parameters in coronavirus pneumonia, hinting at potential interventional therapy. Tang N, Dengju L, Wang X, Son Z. Brief Report: Abnormal coagulation parameters are associated with poor prognosis in patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia. J Thromb Haemostas 2020. DOI: 10.1111/jth.14768

Bleeding Disorders

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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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