Posts

Heparin Recall, 10-27-10

Steve Duff of Precision BioLogic alerts us to a new recall of unfractionated heparin posted by the US FDA on October 27, 2010. The supplier, Scientific Protein Laboratories, in testing retained crude heparin lots revealed traces of oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. This is the same problem that created a public health risk in 2008. Select US FDA […]

Factor Substitution Assays

There has been some new discussion of the obsolete factor substitution assays using aged serum and adsorbed plasma on the CLS Educators’ List. These have been long discontinued, but a handful of we educators are still teaching them. Here is an earlier discussion on factor substitution assays. Geo.

New Quick Question Posted

A new November Quick Question on specimen management was posted Tuesday, November 9, 2010.

Quick Question: Pooled Normal Plasma

Here is our October Quick Question and its results: What form of platelet-poor pooled normal plasma (PNP) does your laboratory used for mixing studies? a. Commercially prepared frozen PNP: 71 (73%) b. Commercially prepared lyophilized PNP: 11 (11%) c. Locally prepared frozen PNP: 9 (9%) d. Fresh plasma from a normal control: 6 (6%) Answer […]

Do Not Use Heat Blocks

Here is an important follow-up message from Lisa Reid-Fifoot at Precision about heat blocks: Hi George, I was reading the question from Kim Kinney regarding the use of a water bath or a heating block to thaw frozen coag samples and I wanted to share some information. Precision BioLogic strongly discourages the use of a heating block. We […]

Mixing Studies: 4:1?

Here are two new questions from “mirnaibarra” in El Paso. George, Thank you for your prompt answer to my last question. We are setting up mixing studies for PT and PTT and I found some literature that states that a 4:1 mix is more sensitive than the 1:1 mix. Do you recommend the 4:1 mix […]

Thawing Coag Specimens: Heat Block?

Another great question from Kim Kinney at Clarian in Indy: Clarian’s newest affiliate, Ball Memorial in Muncie, IN will be opening their new lab the first of December. We are purchasing small equipment and the subject of a water bath came up. At Clarian we have always used a 37ºC water bath to thaw our frozen coagulation samples […]

Do Icterus and Lipemia Affect the Beckman TOP?

Nancy Miner, MT (ASCP), who is the Hematology Lead Tech at the Seton Family of Hospitals in Austin, TX, posted this question on Pat Letendre’s Medlab_L list. Nancy gave me permission to post her question on Fritsma Factor: Our lab is evaluating coagulation instrumentation. We currently use a Diagnostica Stagoinstrument, which uses an electromechanical method for PTT and PT testing. […]

PT-derived Fibrinogen Assay

From Kim Kinney at Clarian (Indiana University) Laboratories in Indianapolis: Hi George, My pathologist is asking about prothrombin time (PT)-based fibrinogen levels. I would like to hear from sites that use this test about the advantages and disadvantages over using the Clauss fibrinogen level. Thanks, Kim. Hello, Kim, thanks for your question. The Clauss assay is a clot-based modification […]

Aspirin and Lupus Anticoagulant

From Mirna Ibarra; Do aspirin or Plavix interfere with lupus anticoagulant testing in any way? Hello, and thank you for your question. No, aspirin and Plavix, which are antiplatelet drugs, should have no effect on clot-based lupus anticoagulant testing, which is performed using platelet poor plasma, which is plasma whose platelet count is less than […]

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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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