Aug 24 2013

george

Change in Actin FS Sensitivity

Here is a new message from frequent contributor Joyce Low at St. Vincent’s in Sydney. “Our lab has been using Actin® FS since 2007. For us, different lot numbers have been reasonably similar in terms of the reference interval 25–35 s on Stago instruments and heparin therapeutic interval of 50–75 or 80s determined by anti-Xa assay. In […]

read more

Comments (2)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Aug 24 2013

george

Does Lipitor Affect INR?

I received this August 6 note from Prof. Emeritus Bernadette Rodak, Indiana University Clinical Laboratory Science program. Prof. Rodak responds to questions posted by patients to the ASCLS Consumer Web Forum and passed this along for comment: “I have a question from a patient whose INR suddenly jumped to over 7 when he started atorvastatin (Lipitor®). I found […]

read more

Comments (2)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jul 21 2013

george

Kcentra or Profilnine?

From Jane Bossart: Any thoughts on whether Kcentra® (Behring CSL) will be better than Profilnine® (Grifols)? It seems there have been no head to head comparison yet. Hello, Jane, and thank you for your question. Although non-activated prothrombin complex concentrates (PCCs) and sometimes recombinant activated factor VII have been used off-label in conjunction with vitamin K […]

read more

Comments (0)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jul 16 2013

george

Does Riva Affect Thrombophilia Tests?

A message from Crystal Azevedo, Eastern Maine Healthcare System: Hello George, I was wondering if you or your colleagues are familiar with the interfering effects of rivaroxaban on tests for thrombophilia? I am testing a sample of plasma where the prescribed dose is 15 mg twice per day, and most of the test results are suspect. Thanks […]

read more

Comments (1)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jul 3 2013

george

POC Screening for Coumadin Effect

From John McClure: We have been approached by our neurology and ER services to establish point of care prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR) testing to assess for Coumadin effect prior to initiating thrombolytic therapy in stroke patients. One of our point of care (POC) coordinators has pointed out that the devices are FDA approved for monitoring […]

read more

Comments (0)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jul 2 2013

george

In-house Dilute TT

Dear George, I greatly appreciate your website and congratulate you on have such a informative and open educational forum. I was wondering if it was possible to add “in-house dilute thrombin time” to the current Quick Question list? Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Glen Holloway. Hello, Glen, and thank you for your suggestion. I will […]

read more

Comments (2)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jun 30 2013

george

Transient Recurrent FVII Deficiency?

Another from Linda Stang, Alberta Health Service: We have a patient with ‘transient, recurrent’ factor VII deficiency that I suspect is drug related. When FVII is low, protein C and factor X are normal. Patient has been as high as 1.57 u/mL and as low as 0.08 u/mL. Do you or any of your participants have […]

read more

Comments (0)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jun 14 2013

george

Pradaxa Measurement: An Oxymoron?

George sent this message to Dr. David Alter, Spectrum Health System, Grand Rapids, Michigan (once named Butterworth Hospital), regarding a question he posted on MEDLAB-L on Monday, June 10, asking, “Isn’t monitoring Pradaxa an oxymoron?”: “Hi, Dr. Alter. I subscribe to MEDLAB-L and just saw your post regarding Pradaxa measurement. May I post your question and some discussion […]

read more

Comments (1)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jun 11 2013

george

What is an RUO/IUO?

We’ve had several posts about measuring the new oral anticoagulants, the most pressing concern for coagulation laboratories around the world as they are confronted with the need to determine the presence and levels of dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, and soon, edoxaban. Though pharmaceutical distributors reassure us there is no need for monitoring, we are confronted with […]

read more

Comments (1)

Anticoagulant Therapy

Jun 11 2013

george

Rx Level for Dabi?

Dave McGlasson, hemostasis researcher at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio, is engaged in a large-scale dabigatran measurement project. He reports that a prominent Midwestern medical center uses 45–95 ng/mL as their therapeutic range, using the plasma-diluted thrombin time (DTT, Hemoclot® direct thrombin inhibitor). In the article in Europace (2013) 15, 625–51 (posted May 9, 2013 […]

read more

Comments (0)

Anticoagulant Therapy