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Updated: May 28, 2026

A Multicenter MRI Protocol for the Evaluation and Quantification of Deep Vein Thrombosis
Published on: June 2, 2015
Lepirudin dose-dependently increases thrombelastography parameters at therapeutic plasma concentrations as measured
M Feuring1, M Wehling, A Schultz
1Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Background:
The aim of this in-vitro pilot study was to assess the usefulness of the thrombelastograph ROTEM® for determining the anticoagulant activity of lepirudin.
Methods:
The ROTEM® parameters, clotting-time, clot formation time and maximum clot firmness were measured in the presence of increasing concentrations of lepirudin (10-4 μg/ml - 10 μg/ml). Citrated blood was obtained from 16 healthy male subjects.
Results:
Clotting-time increased from 79.1 ± 53.4 s at baseline to 194.1 ± 151.9 s at a drug concentration of 1μg/ml as measured with EXTEM (p < 0.0001). Borderline significance was found for the difference between maximum clot firmness at baseline (60.2 ± 4.3 mm) and after drug application (55.5 ± 6.5 mm).
Conclusions:
This pilot investigation shows that the ROTEM® device may be suitable for monitoring lepirudin at low concentrations but the results should be confirmed in a larger study and the ROTEM® device validated against standard methods.
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