Bleeding Disorders

Quick Question March 2021: 2 YO W/ Anatomic Bleeds

Our March, 2021 Quick Question is a case study involving a 2 YO who experiences frequent anatomic [joint and body cavity] bleeds. The lab results are PT: 22s; PTT: 29s; fibrinogen 280 mg/dL. What do you do next? Please choose your anwer on the right. You will need to endure the “Captch” function, we’ve had […]

Bleeding Disorders

Quick Question Feb 2021: Easy Bruising Case

Our February, 2021 Quick Question was a case study that drew 60 responses. A 25-YO woman who is 1 month post-partum experiences bruising and menorrhagia. She reports that her mother and brother both experience easy bruising and that her own bruising disappeared during her pregnancy. What condition could cause these symptoms? Acquired hemophilia: 12% [7] […]

Bleeding Disorders

Factor VII Inhibitor Assay

From Cemalettin Ulusoy, MD, Clinical Laboratory Specialist: I am setting up a hemostasis unit in the central laboratory of public hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey. As it is a rare disorder, I have not been able to get satisfying information on factor VII inhibitor screening [Bethesda-based method]. I would like to ask whether I am able […]

Bleeding Disorders

Cord Blood PTT Comment

We’ve received a new comment on our January 11 cord blood entry. If you have experience with performing factor assays on cord blood, please comment on the January 11 post or this one. Alternatively, email your comment to [email protected].

Bleeding Disorders

Chromogenic Factor VIII

B-domain deleted extended half-life factor VIII concentrates have come to be the chosen hemophilia A therapies, along with emicizumab [HemLibra®], approved in 2017. Coagulation laboratories can no longer rely upon the time-honored one-stage clot-based factor assay to accurately report BDD EHL therapeutic factor VIII activity, nor can these tests be used to monitor patient factor […]

Bleeding Disorders

Hemophilia A Management

Here is a link to New Frontiers in Hemophilia A Management [click], which appears in the December 2020 Clinical Laboratory News, an AACC Publication. The article features the rapid increase of emicizumab [HemLibra®] therapy and the need for bovine substrate chromogenic factor VIII assays to replace the unreliable clot-based assays. The article is a good […]

Bleeding Disorders

Emicizumab’s Effect on the PTT

Here is an informative December 2020 CAP Today article, “Digging Into Drug’s Effect on aPTT-based Assays” [click] by staff writer Amy Carpenter Aquino. The article documents a CAP20 hemophilia therapy session, “aPTT assays in patients on emicizumab are not going to be accurate. And the effect of the drug on our aPTT-based assays can last […]

Bleeding Disorders

New 2021 VWD Dx and Rx Guides

Today, 1-12-21, the World Federation of Hemophilia elearning service [click] published their an update series of von Willebrand disease diagnosis and management guidelines in Blood Advances 2021; 5; DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003264. Thanks to Elaine Benoit, Precision BioLogic Inc., for the heads-up. These essential documents are free of charge.

Bleeding Disorders

Cord Blood PTT

From Ann Helen: Can you trust results of PTT and factor VIII in umbilical cord blood? It seems as if it is usual to draw umbilical cord blood from newborns when the mother is a known carrier of Hemophilia A. Can you trust a high APTT and a low factor VIII in such a sample? […]

Bleeding Disorders

Webinar: Von Willebrand Factor: Friend or Foe

Click here to register for our webinar, von Willebrand Factor, Friend or Foe. Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) is crucial to platelet adhesion and proper, effective coagulation. It also appears to be associated with inflammation and sepsis. Join us for a thought-provoking webinar entitled Von Willebrand Factor: Friend or Foe? as we explore the many faces […]

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.

Cheat Sheets from George

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