Background: The point of care test (POCT) for monitoring hemostasis has been increasingly used in patient care in the hospital and outpatient setting. In a hospital environment, the POCT must be chosen, validated, approved and managed by professionals in the Clinical Laboratory of the Institution where they will be implanted.

Aims: To evaluate the results of the Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) of POCT equipment and additionally to compare the results of the POCT with the conventional methodology used in our routine.

Methods: 69 samples were obtained from normal individuals (n = 36), inpatients and outpatients using anticoagulants (n = 33). Among anticoagulated patients, 9 were using AVK, 13 using unfractionated heparin, 8 using Eliquis and 3 using Xarelto. The samples for this study were obtained by capillary puncture (fingertip) and citrated plasma (3.2% sodium citrate). The POCT test was performed immediately on the sample by capillary puncture (fingertip) using Roche Coagucheck Pro II equipment. The APTT test in citrated plasma was performed on the ACL Top 750 equipment, using the APTT-SP liquid reagent, both from Werfen.

Results: When comparing the APTT results obtained by POCT (capillary samples) with the reference method (samples collected in citrate), we obtained a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.77. Evaluating normal individuals, we observed a 94.4% agreement of results between the conventional methodology and the POCT. For anticoagulated patients, agreement was 75.8%.

Conclusions: The results of the comparison between the POCT and the conventional method were quite satisfactory, with great benefits for patients with collection difficulties, pediatric patients and patients included in hemorrhage protocols where speed in the release of the result is essential for the continuity of the procedure clinical care.

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ISTH Congress Abstracts - https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/point-of-care-method-in-determining-the-activated-partial-thromboplastin-time/