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An alternate method for calibrating the thromboelastograph
S E McNulty1, D P Maguire, L D Arai
1Department of Anesthesiology, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Objective:
This study evaluated various substances that could be used to calibrate the Thrombelastograph.
Design:
Prospective, controlled comparison.
Setting:
Operating room laboratory at a tertiary care university hospital.
Participants:
None.
Interventions:
Six substances commonly available in the operating room setting (ointments, creams, and gels) were analyzed by thromboelastography for 3 minutes. Sixty measurements were made for each substance.
Measurements And Main Results:
Thromboelastographic analysis of the ointments and cream preparations had an amplitude variability that exceeded 10 mm within the 3-minute recording period. The conductive gel had the most reproducible thromboelastography tracing with a mean amplitude of 62.5 +/- 1.1 mm (analysis of variance, p < 0.0005). There was a significant correlation between the reported viscosity of the three gels and the deflection amplitude (linear regression, R2 = 0.97; p < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
Conductive gel is a useful substance for quickly checking the functional status of the Thrombelastograph at an operational stage. Calibration of the Thrombelastograph using a gel of known viscosity is clinically relevant and may be more practical than testing with thromboelastographic-defined normal and abnormal blood analogs.