May 2024—What is a lupus anticoagulant (LA)? LA is somewhat of a misnomer. Many patients with this condition do not have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and usually do not bleed. However, the in vitro phenomenon was originally described in patients with SLE, as well as other autoimmune disorders—thus use of the term “lupus,” and this does often lead to prolonged in vitro coagulation testing—thus use of the term “anticoagulant.”
Read More »Coagulation
The who, when, and why of thrombophilia testing
January 2024—Thrombophilia testing has been shown to be performed far more often than indicated in thromboembolic events, at significant cost to the patient and hospital.
Read More »Panelists on viscoelastic and other coag assays
January 2024—Viscoelastic assays and other coagulation tests were front and center when CAP TODAY publisher Bob McGonnagle on Nov. 20 convened seven people in an online roundtable. Oksana Volod, MD, and Eric Salazar, MD, PhD, and five company representatives weighed in on, among other things, appropriate test use, automation, and laboratory-developed tests. What they said begins here.
Read More »New guide to whole blood viscoelastic assays: hemostasis, testing, cases, and applications
October 2023—New this month from CAP Publications is Whole Blood Viscoelastic Assays in Clinical Diagnosis: An Illustrated Case-Based Guide. Viscoelastic testing was designed to determine the cause of intraoperative or trauma-related bleeding to guide hemostatic therapy. CAP TODAY asked the book’s editor, Oksana Volod, MD, about the guide. See her answers and a sample chapter. Dr. Volod is professor of pathology and director of the coagulation consultative service, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles.
Read More »New viscoelastic testing requirement in checklist
September 2023—A proficiency testing accreditation requirement in the new checklist edition was revised to add clarification, and a new requirement on viscoelastic testing will close an existing gap.
Read More »Ins and outs of von Willebrand factor activity assays
January 2023—Guidelines for the diagnosis of von Willebrand disease, published in 2021, have raised questions about which von Willebrand factor activity assay laboratories should use.
Read More »Volume? Space? Automation decisions in coagulation
January 2023—Automation and point-of-care, reflex, and viscoelastic testing were some of what came up when a group spoke with CAP TODAY publisher Bob McGonnagle in late November about hemostasis testing. Also tossed in: Results reporting to the EHR, which “can always be improved,” said Eric Salazar, MD, PhD, of University of Texas Health San Antonio. And D-dimer, one of the pandemic’s “health care heroes,” said Nichole Howard of Diagnostica Stago. Here’s what they said about all that and more.
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