Free oscillation rheometry detects changes in clot properties in pregnancy and thrombocytopenia

Improved methods are needed to identify patients at risk for thrombotic or bleeding events. Free oscillation rheometry (FOR) is a technique that offers information on coagulation, based on contributions of all blood components, by measurement of clotting time and changes in clot elasticity. This is the first study that evaluates FOR parameters in subjects likely to represent hypercoagulability (pregnant women) and hypocoagulability (thrombocytopenic patients). Clotting time and blood clot elasticity were measured by FOR in blood samples obtained from women in different pregnancy trimesters (n = 58), in thrombocytopenic patients before and after a platelet transfusion (n = 20) and in healthy blood donors (n = 60). The clotting time was shorter and the clot elasticity higher in pregnant women compared to the non-pregnant female blood donors. The elasticity was higher in late pregnancy compared to early pregnancy. Compared to the blood donors, the thrombocytopenic patients had lower elasticity, which was increased by a platelet transfusion, but there was no difference in clotting time. The results suggest that FOR can provide new information on the haemostatic status of patients at risk of thrombotic or bleeding events as well as information on the haemostatic effect of a platelet transfusion.