Nov 14 2011

george

New Phase 3 Data on Apixaban

Stephen Duff, Co-CEO of Precision BioLogic Inc passed along this announcement. At the American Heart Association meeting, the results of a phase 3 trial indicated that apixaban did not meet the primary efficacy outcome of superiority to enoxaparin (Lovenox) for the endpoint of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and VTE-related death at day 30 in people with acute medical illness. The […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Nov 14 2011

george

Bridging Anticoagulation

We are getting a lot of fresh anticoagulation and thrombosis information from the ongoing American Heart Association meeting. Dr Samuel Z Goldhaber (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA) indicates there is a lack of evidence for “bridging” anticoagulation. He conclludes, “there are no randomized clinical trials to say that bridging is the way to go.”

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Nov 14 2011

george

New Results on Rivaroxaban

Research data presented Sunday, November 13, 2011 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions indicated that adding low doses of Johnson & Johnson and Bayer’s Xarelto (rivaroxaban) to standard antiplatelet therapy significantly prevented the occurrence of secondary cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), compared with standard therapy alone. The companies plan to seek US […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Nov 4 2011

george

INR Reference Range?

A message from Patti Richardson and Dr. Manjula Balasubramanian, St Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA : Is it necessary to have a reference range for the international normalized ratio (INR)? It is a calculated value. If so, should these be derived from the normal prothrombin time (PT) ranges? The Heme CAP checklist does not address this question […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Oct 21 2011

george

Is PTT Monitoring of UFH a Thing of the Past?

I received this note from Stephen Duff, Co-CEO of Precision BioLogic about my recent “Top Ten” post: I noted with interest your Top Ten summary over the years and was puzzled to see “PTT Heparin Therapeutic Range” 2006 with a check mark beside it for “Resolved”. I think many labs still struggle with getting a sufficient number […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Oct 19 2011

george

Factor X Assay in APL

From Shaun Seth: I was reading the commentary Dave McGlasson gave regarding the factor X assay and its role in antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. I was curious to know when or why a lab would use the factor II assay vs. the factor X assay. Hello Shaun and thank you for your question. The factor X chromogenic assay is […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Oct 12 2011

george

NW Medical Lab Symposium Oct 12–15

The Northwest Medical Laboratory Symposium is planned for October 12–15 in the Lynnwood Convention Center, Lynnwood Washington, just north of Seattle. On Friday, October 14, George will speak on “Hemophilia Therapy: From Rasputin to Recombinants,”8:30–10, and “The Top Ten Problems in the Coagulation Laboratory,” 2–3:30. The handouts for these presentations are available for registrants from the NWMLS web site, and are also […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Oct 7 2011

george

Is Ecarin Available? Yes, from Centerchem

From Gretchen Schaef Johns, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL: Is Ecarin available in the US and is the Ecarin clotting time (or the newer Stago Ecarin chromogenic test) research use only? Someone told me that you can’t get Ecarin in the US currently. Thanks. Thanks for your question, Dr. Johns. As you indicate, Diagnostica Stago has […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy

Oct 7 2011

george

Case: DRVVT Positive While on Warfarin (Need Help)

I received a question through the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) Consumer Forum, from whence come many thorny hemostasis questions. This question was forwarded by Prof. Bernadette Rodak of Indiana University. I’ll quote (with edits for brevity), but have masked the consumer’s identity: “I had a cerebral thrombosis in March 2009 at the age of […]

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Jan 16 2011

george

Reprise: Dilute Thrombin Time for DTI Monitoring

From “Ipaz” at Iline Microsystems: For the plasma dilute thrombin time, why is the patient plasma diluted with normal pool plasma and not with saline solution? Thank you for your question. The dilute thrombin time is currently produced by Hyphen BioMed and marketed in North American by Aniara as their Direct Thrombin Inhibitors assay. The assay is designed to monitor the efficacy of dabigatran, […]

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Anticoagulant Therapy