The suitability of the Australasian reference thromboplastin for use on an automated centrifugal analyser

The Australasian Reference Thromboplastin (ART) is now produced in a low turbidity form (ART-LT) for use in photo-electrical coagulometers. This study was designed to assess the suitability of ART and ART-LT for use on a fully automated centrifugal analyser, the ACL300 Research (ACL). These reagents were compared to Thromborel S (TRL), the reagent currently in successful use in our laboratory. It was found that regular ART was an unsuitable reagent for the ACL due to poor daily quality control testing (QC) precision at an INR of 4.5. The ACL also had the effect of significantly altering the ISI of ART from its recommended value as determined for manual testing. ART-LT was found to be an acceptable reagent on the ACL even though its QC precision was lower than that of TRL. The reagent was stable throughout its 8 wk shelf-life. The ACL significantly altered the ISI (International Sensitivity Index) of ART-LT. This may no longer be a disadvantage, as ART-LT is now provided with an ISI specifically for its use on the ACL.