The utility of the dilute prothrombin time in the interpretation of antiphospholipid syndrome testing

To evaluate the utility of the dilute prothrombin time (DPT) in diagnosing antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), alone and when paired with the dilute Russell viper venom time (DRVVT).

Dilute prothrombin time and DRVVT testing was performed on plasma samples spiked with apixaban or rivaroxaban, or depleted of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors. A retrospective analysis of all functional APS testing results over a 44-month period at the University of Chicago Medical Center was performed.

In spiking studies, the screening clotting time in the DPT (DPTS) is more sensitive to deficiency of vitamin K-dependent factors than is the screening clotting time in the DRVVT (DRVVTS). The converse is true for factor Xa direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC)-spiked plasma. In a 44-month retrospective analysis, only 2.6% of clinical APS panels showed isolated positivity in the DPT-based system. Comparing the DPT-based system with the DRVVT-based system showed utility in identifying false-positive DRVVT results due to anticoagulation. A DRVVTS/DPTS ratio of 0.785 or lower predicted an international normalized ratio of 1.5 or higher (sensitivity, 86.3%; specificity, 60.4%; likelihood ratio, 2.18). Conversely, a DRVVTS/DPTS ratio of 1.165 or higher was the optimal cutoff for predicting the identification of factor Xa DOAC (sensitivity, 61.8%; specificity, 77.8%; likelihood ratio, 2.78). Within the data set that had full DRVVT and DPT results, parameters were identified that could further improve identification of samples with anticoagulation interference.

Dilute prothrombin time lupus anticoagulant assay is rarely the sole laboratory functional evidence for APS, but when combined with the DRVVT, the DPT can serve as an effective screen for common anticoagulant interference.