Posted: November 13, 2024
David McGlasson The complexities of testing for hemophilia A and B are vast. This Clot Club post serves as an overview of what the laboratory must consider when testing for new EHL products. When comparing different methods used to determine FVIII and FIX activity, the testing laboratory should evaluate the calibrators used, individual kit…
Posted: July 10, 2024
Jennifer J. Kiblinger Scientific Director First, I need to comment how amazing the people of Thailand were. This introvert was a bit worried about going to such a crowded city, but everyone was so hospitable. At the hotel, at the convention center, on the public transit. Those of you who stayed to the end perhaps…
Posted: May 9, 2024
David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) Several years ago, I was the lead author of a manuscript titled: Comparison of six dilute Russell Viper Venom Time (DRVVT) lupus anticoagulant (LA) screen/confirm assay kits.1 The purpose of the protocol was to see if using normalized ratio gave our laboratory any better inter-method consistency when performing the DRVVT…
Posted: December 21, 2023
David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) A few months ago, I posted on LinkedIn that I noticed at recent conferences and journal articles that blood coagulation factors were sometimes referred to in Euro-Arabic numbers (E-A), 0 through 9, instead of Roman numerals.For example, “F8” was written instead of “FVIII”.And sometimes they are used interchangeably. I received…
Posted: October 5, 2023
-Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD and Olivia Stricker, PhD Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are an amazing participant of the innate immune system. In a first line of defense, neutrophils expel decondensated chromatin into the extracellular matrix to trap invading pathogens in a mechanism called NETosis. NETs are made up of DNA, histones, and granule…
Posted: September 8, 2023
David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) The most recent ISLH meeting was held in New Orleans, LA May 11-13, 2023. The conference had many State-of-the-Art sessions and I concentrated on the hemostasis/thrombosis presentations. On the first day, Katrien Devreese MD, PhD, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium gave an excellent presentation on the current Diagnosis of Acquired Thrombotic…
Posted: April 14, 2023
David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) At the recent HTRS 2023 Scientific Symposium, a lively discussion in a Plenary Session was presented titled, “Do We Dare to DOAC?” The HTRS session was moderated by Ayesha N. Zia MD, MSCS and Bethany T. Samuelson, MD, and included three presenters: Introduction to Science: Stephan Moll, MD, University of…
Posted: April 13, 2023
Why isn’t this being funded?! Thoughts from HTRS 2023, and a grant opportunity from DiaPharma Jennifer J. Kiblinger Scientific Director The HTRS 2023 Scientific Symposium gave new insights in hemostasis and thrombosis, from health justice initiatives to the latest in antiphospholipid antibody testing. There were lively and insightful debates, even one on how many steel…
Posted: January 25, 2023
David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) Choosing Wisely is a United States-based health educational campaign led by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (ABIMF) and the Consumers’ Union to reduce the prevalence of unnecessary diagnostic tests and treatments.1 The Choosing Wisely campaign goal is to disseminate information for clinicians and patients that provides diagnostic care…
Posted: October 7, 2022
Chicago, IL, August 15-18, 2022 David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) The recent THSNA 2022 meeting that was held in Chicago, IL from August 15-18, 2022, was a welcome event, as attendees for the first time in a couple of years could attend the conference in person or virtually. Finally, attendees had the ability to…
Posted: September 26, 2022
– Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a rare and severe complication of adenoviral-based COVID-19 vaccinations. VITT occurs at a rate of 1:100,000 to 1:1,000,000 and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Long term complications of VITT and VITT antibodies can persist for more than 9 months and has…
Posted: August 31, 2022
-Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) is a rare, inherited, autosomal dominant disorder that is characterized by fluid accumulation and tissue swelling that can be painful and potentially life-threatening. This form of angioedema is driven by vasculature leakage into surrounding tissues including in the hands, feet, lips, genitals, gastrointestinal tract, or airway. Normal…
Posted: June 28, 2022
INTRODUCTION In a previous CLOT CLUB blog post I discussed how chromogenic factor X assays (CFX) were more accurate and less likely to be influenced in certain instances than using the prothrombin time/international ratio assay (PT/INR)1. The PT/INR may be falsely elevated in the presence of lupus anticoagulants (LA), direct thrombin inhibitors (DTI), and dysfibrinogenemia. …
Posted: April 11, 2022
-Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is an inherited bleeding disease that clinically presents with extended bleeding times following wounds, surgeries, nosebleeds, or during menstruation. VWD affects approximately 0.1% of people and is considered to be the most common bleeding disorder (Keesler and Flood 2017). Von Willebrand factor (vWF) is a multimer…
Posted: March 25, 2022
David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) Before reading this blog post, I invite the viewer to read the article by Abi Kasberg, PhD posted August 21, 2021 titled Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) Clinical Trials: Targeting the needs left by current treatment options. It’s a great review of current methods to address ADAMTS13 deficiency and discusses the…
Posted: December 17, 2021
THE NEW NOVEL ANTICOAGULANTS XI(a) and XII(a). THE CONTACT FACTOR INHIBITORS: Battling thromboembolism. David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) INTRODUCTION Thromboembolism is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Treatment with anticoagulants is prescribed, but balancing bleeding and clotting has been a challenge. In the 1940s, unfractionated heparin (UFH) became available for use by intravenous or…
Posted: September 27, 2021
Clot Club – ISTH 2021 David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) Attending the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis 2021 virtually from July 17-21, 2021 was quite a challenge this year. There were lots of information ranging from clinical, to what I would call “futuristic” research, that we might not see put into clinical practice for…
Posted: August 19, 2021
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) Clinical Trials: Targeting the needs left by current treatment options -Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare thrombotic microangiopathy blood disorder that is characterized by the formation of blood clots in small blood vessels, thrombocytopenia, and a lack of ADAMTS-13 (a disintegrin-like and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin…
Posted: May 19, 2021
Hypercoagulation During Sickle Cell Disease Contributed by Abi Kasberg, PhD Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic hemoglobin disease that disrupts the ability of red blood cells (RBCs) to deliver oxygen throughout the body. RBCs are normally round and flexible, which allows them to flow easily through vasculature. However, in SCD, RBCs are crescent-shaped due…
Posted: April 29, 2021
CLOT CLUB David L. McGlasson, MS, MLS(ASCP) Lupus Anticoagulants/Antiphospholipid Antibodies/Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Part II Testing for Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome Platelet-Poor Plasma (PPP) The quality of the patient’s PPP greatly affects the integrity of the testing. To obtain PPP, the capped citrated specimen is centrifuged at room temperature for at least 15 minutes at 1500–2500 Xg.…