Thrombosis research
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Thrombosis research · Sep 2009
Comparative StudyEvaluation of the platelet count drop method for assessment of platelet function in comparison with "gold standard" light transmission aggregometry.
Hyporesponsiveness to antiplatelet agents has been linked to an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. However, light transmission aggregometry (LTA), the gold standard methodology for assessing platelet function, requires expertise and is labour-intensive, which render its use in clinical settings impractical. We assessed whether platelet count drop (PCD), a technique widely available in any haematology laboratory, could replace LTA in testing for inhibition of platelet aggregation induced by antiplatelet agents. ⋯ Although the PCD method is widely available in non-specialized laboratories, our results demonstrate that there is poor correlation with the current gold standard, i.e. LTA. Thus, PCD should not be used in replacement of LTA to assess antiplatelet responsiveness.
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Thrombosis research · Sep 2009
Lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of coagulation in neonatal cord and adult blood monitored by thrombelastography.
Although precisely balanced hemostasis in newborns is rapidly changing during early development. During gram-negative sepsis, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activates toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and induces complex responses of immune system and hemostasis. In the present study we compared LPS-induced activation of coagulation in cord blood (CB) samples of healthy newborns to whole blood (WB) samples from healthy adult volunteers. ⋯ In summary, TEG proved to be a sensitive and reliable tool for the determination of LPS-induced tissue factor mediated activation of hemostasis in whole blood samples from adults and neonates.