Instrumentation

Resource to Compare Analyzers

From Stephanie Morgan: We are comparing analyzers that perform factor assays, platelet studies, thrombosis testing, and other specialty testing while remaining cost efficient. Where would be the best resource to compare analyzers in each category? Thank you. Hello, Stephanie, and thank you for your question. Your best resource is the College of American Pathologists’ CAP Today Product […]

Instrumentation

More On Optical Versus Mechanical Clot Detection

In follow-up to Click here for the article: Cunningham et al 2012.

Instrumentation

Coag Tests for a Community Hospital

From Meg Harlin, Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Maryland: Our Laboratory will be bringing in new coagulation analyzers from Instrumentation Laboratories, Inc.; TOPS 300, in February, 2014. We currently perform prothrombin time and international normalized ratio (PT/ INR), partial thromboplastin time (APTT, PTT), fibrinogen, and D-dimer. A Few years ago we stopped doing bleeding times, mixing studies and […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

FVIII Inhibitor Assays

From Saravanan Vinayagam: We are trying to set up the factor VIII inhibitor assay on our ACL TOP analysers. Has anyone got an SOP or previous experience in validating inhibitor assay in an automated analysers? Thank you. Hello, Saravanan Vinayagam, and thank you for your post. I’m hoping that an IL technical representative will see this […]

Bleeding Disorders

Correlating ACT from the i-STAT and Hemochron

A message from Sue Allen at Baptist Hospital: George, a while back you posted aquestion to the masses about the correlation between the Abbott i-STAT ACT versus the ITC Hemochron 401 and the Hemochron Jr. and I was wondering if you ever received any responses and have any further information on the subject. We are currently doing the same conversion and […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

Participant Poll: Who Uses TEG?

From Kim Kinney at Indiana University Medical Center (IU Health): Hi George. We are being asked to make the thromboelastograph (TEG) available in our special coag lab for clinical use. I am curious to poll others regarding the use of TEG, who is running the test, who is interpreting the results, etc. We have had the TEG available […]

Global Hemostasis Assays

Dabigatran and the iSTAT

From “SwimRose:” Hi George, We recently had a case in our ER of a stroke patient on Pradaxa giving an INR of 2.0 with ISTAT, but the main lab instrument, an IL ACL, gave 1.1. Please comment. Hello, and thank you for your question, which drove me to an early-morning search of theAbbott Diagnostics site for […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

Reprise: Validating POC INRs

Back to our April 24 anticoagulation clinic manager’s question about when to validate a prolonged point of care (POC) prothrombin time with international normalized ratio (PT/INR). George spoke with representatives of Roche Diagnostics, distributor of Coag-U-Chek instruments, while attending the May 3–5 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Summit of North America meeting in Chicago. While Roche contends this is a local decision and […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

Reprise: Validating POC INRs

Back to our April 24 anticoagulation clinic manager’s question about when to validate a prolonged point of care (POC) prothrombin time with international normalized ratio (PT/INR). George spoke with representatives of Roche Diagnostics, distributor ofCoag-U-Chek instruments, while attending the May 3–5 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Summit of North America meeting in Chicago. While Roche contends this is a local decision and […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

POC INRs

From Bob Gosselin: Hey GF, re point of care (POC) international normalized ratios (INRs), assuming that you are collecting a citrated sample for testing, a high hematocrit (HCT) should not matter for a system that employs fingerstick whole blood, since there is no citrate:plasma ratio issue at hand with using whole blood. Viscosity may be an issue […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

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George Fritsma is a medical laboratory scientist, educator, and author. George holds faculty appointments with Rutgers University and Michigan State University, and is a member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, American Association of Clinical Chemists, and American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

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