Objective: To explore the prognostic factors of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) for survival. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 282 hepatic encephalopathy patients from January 2012 to May 2014 in our hospital. Data base was built using Excel and SPSS 18.0. Multivariate logistic regression statistics were used to analyze 21 possible risk factors, including gender, age, ALB, ...

BACKGROUND Rejecting hemolyzed specimens received for coagulation studies is advised by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Receiving such specimens is a common phenomenon in many laboratories. The true impact of hemolysis on coagulation studies is little studied in clinical practice. AIM The aim of this work is to study the changes occurring in readings of prothrombin time (PT) ...

The PT/INR (prothrombin time/international normalized ratio) and aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) were tests developed in the early 20th century for specific and unique indications. Despite this, they are often ordered together routinely. The objective of this study was to determine if a multimodal intervention could reduce PT/INR and aPTT testing in the emergency department (ED). T...

The aim of this study is to assess the practice of heparin administration in real-life situations. This study was conducted at the coronary care unit (CCU) in one of the busiest hospitals in Kuwait; with special attention to the rate of heparin resistance, potential factor that may predict resistance or responsiveness and heparin related complications. A prospective observational study was cond...

BACKGROUND/AIM Clinical manifestations of sepsis are not caused directly by the invading pathogens, but rather mostly by systemic inflammation that leads to activation of the coagulation system. The aim of this study was to determine whether levels of hemostasis- related parameters measured in intensive care unit admissions are associated with mortality and severity in patients with sepsis. M...

Background: The liver is the cornerstone of the coagulation system. The physiology of blood coagulation is closely linked to liver function as the liver synthesizes most of the factors of the coagulation cascade and fibrinolytic proteins. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate coagulation abnormalities associated with chronic liver diseases and determine the coagulation abnormal...

INTRODUCTION The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) has produced a guideline detailing how to determine the activated partial thromboplastin time's (APTT) sensitivity to clotting factor deficiencies, by mixing normal and deficient plasmas. Using the guideline, we determined the factor sensitivity of two APTT reagents. METHODS APTTs were performed using Actin FS and Actin FSL o...

The most common anticoagulant used for cardiopulmonary bypass is heparin. An alternate form of anticoagulant therapy is needed for patients who have immune-mediated heparin-associated thrombocytopenia (HIT). Thrombocytopenia causes bleeding and may lead to serious arterial and venous thrombosis. HIT or heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with thrombosis type II (HITT) are both described as adverse...

Anticoagulation with heparin is required in the management of the burn patient if their clinical course is complicated by venous thrombosis. Heparin therapy is commonly monitored by the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) but this assay can be unreliable in patients with acute inflammation because of an increase in plasma factor VIII levels that result in an underestimation of the hepa...

Background: Thrombosis will occur due to contact of blood with unepithelialized surfaces after vascular clamping and also blood stasis during vascular surgery. Heparin is administered to prevent thrombosis. The aPTT test is used for assurance of the anticoagulative effect of heparin. At the end of the operation heparin is neutralized by protamine sulfate in some centers. In this study we assess...