[Laboratory standardization and quality control in anticoagulant therapy]

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Hematology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Laboratory tests for monitoring anticoagulant therapy require standardization and quality control.
• Variations in thromboplastin reagents are a major source of inter-laboratory result discrepancies.
• Existing British standards offer a model for national quality control of anticoagulant testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a standardized model for laboratory control of anticoagulant therapy.
• To assess the suitability of human brain thromboplastin over commercial rabbit preparations.
• To investigate the potential of baboon brain thromboplastin as a viable reagent.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a national reagent and reporting system for thromboplastin.
• Quality control utilizing lyophilized plasma and thromboplastin preparations.
• Comparative analysis of human brain thromboplastin, commercial rabbit preparations, and a novel baboon brain thromboplastin extract.

Main Results:

• The British standardization model, including quality control, has been successfully adopted at Tygerberg Hospital.
• Human brain thromboplastin is identified as a preferred reagent compared to commercial rabbit preparations.
• Preliminary findings suggest baboon brain thromboplastin performs comparably to human brain extracts.

Conclusions:

• The implemented British model provides a framework for standardizing anticoagulant therapy.
• Standardization of thromboplastin reagents is crucial for reliable anticoagulant monitoring.
• Baboon brain thromboplastin shows promise as an alternative reagent for laboratory testing.