Platelet Function Testing

January 2025 Quick Question: PFA 100/200

Our January 2025 Quick Question asked: “To test for platelet function, how do you report PFA-100/200 collagen-epi (CEPI) and collagen-ADP (CADP) results?” Here are the responses from 35 participants: CEPI only, Neg/Pos: 1 (3%) CEPI only, CT seconds: 2 (6%) CEPI & CADP, Neg/Pos: 3 (9%) CEPI & CADP, CT: 23 (66%) We use the […]

Quick Question Archive

January 2025 Quick Question: The PFA 100/200

Please navigate to our December 21, 2024 entry PFA-100/200, which features Brenda Goforth‘s question and the subsequent discussion by Dave McGlasson and Dr. Emmanuel Favaloro. The entry cites three references, one of which is open access, and click here for a basic PFA-100/200 protocol copied from a link in the December 21 post. In further […]

Platelet Function Testing

The PFA-100/200

I (Geo) received these questions from Brenda Goforth on 12/19/24 and received assistance from colleague and coagulation expert David McGlasson in locating relevant research documents: I have two questions regarding the interpretation of PFA-100 closure times (CTs): 1. If the CT results are below (shorter than) the normal reference range, would this still be considered […]

Platelet Function Testing

Coag Conversation: ITP and Platelet Functional Disorders, Part 2

Here is the second of our three-part series, “A Coag Conversation: ITP and Inherited Platelet Function Disorders.” featuring Michele Lambert, MD, MSTR, interviewed by George Fritsma and sponsored by BioMedica Diagnostics, Inc. Dr. Lambert is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Pearlman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and Pediatric Hematologist at the Children’s Hospital […]

Platelet Function Testing

Coag Conversation: ITP and Platelet Functional Disorders

Introducing “A Coag Conversation: ITP and Inherited Platelet Function Disorders-Part One.” a three-part series featuring Michele Lambert, MD, MSTR, interviewed by George Fritsma and sponsored by BioMedica Diagnostics, Inc. Dr. Lambert is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Pearlman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and Pediatric Hematologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In […]

Platelet Function Testing

A Molecular Approach to Assess Platelet Hyperreactivity

Friend Ed Groenendal forwarded this UPI summary of a molecular approach correlating evidence of hyperresponsive platelets to major adverse cardiac or limb events. The investigators started with aggregometry-defined platelet hyperreactivity to apply a transcriptome-based platelet reactivity expression score (PRESS). Click below to see the detailed open-access article describing the development and application of the PRESS. […]

Antiplatelet Therapy

May 2024: QQ Poll: Trigger Point for PLT Concentrate Therapy

Our May 2024 Quick Question asks, “Below what PLT count limit do you provide PLT concentrate?” Please show us your facility’s PLT count limit and add a comment below or using the Questions or Comments box.

Bleeding Disorders

April 2024 QQ Summary: MYH9 Mutation

Our April 2024 Quick Question, “What PLT production abnormality is an MYH9 gene mutation?” attracted 26 responses. Here’s the distribution: Thrombocytopenia with absent radii [TAR]: 4 [15%] Bernard-Soulier syndrome [BSS]: 2 [7%] Immune thrombocytopenia [ITP]: 1 [4%] Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: 1 [4%] May-Hegglin disorder: 18 [70%] The production abnormalities are associated with mild to severe bleeding. […]

Bleeding Disorders

April 2024 QQ: MYH9 Mutation

Molecular diagnostic methods have defined scores of platelet disorders that by phenotype alone were categorized as production or functional disorders. Our April 2024 Quick Question is a quiz that “scratches the surface” by asking what disorder or syndrome is part of the MYH9 gene mutation family. For a look at molecular diagnostics practical applications, see […]

Platelet Function Testing

Lab Assays to Detect Occult Cancer in VTE

Here is a provocative article whose investigators looked for lab assays to detect cancer in patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism: Sánchez-López V, Marín-Romero S, Ferrer-Galván M, et all. Occult cancer in patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism: A nested case-control study. Am J Clin Pathol. 2024:aqad178. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqad178. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38340336.

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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.

Cheat Sheets from George

Quick Question