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The mystery of blood clotting tests: What can they reveal about your health?
Blood coagulation tests play a vital role in medical testing because they help doctors assess patients' risk of bleeding and blood clots. These tests not only reveal your health status, but also provide medical professionals with valuable intelligence for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Blood coagulation tests are diagnostic tests used to monitor the hemostatic system and are performed using specific medical laboratory analytical instruments.
Traditional coagulation tests have been around for more than fifty years, and most of these tests are based on methods that monitor the hemostatic system. Still, today’s tests face several challenges, such as the inability to detect multiple coagulation defects simultaneously and the ability to predict thrombosis. These tests can generally be divided into two categories: global tests and local tests.
Global Test
Global tests, also known as global coagulation assays, provide a comprehensive assessment of the efficacy of the entire coagulation cascade. They are very helpful in diagnosing the overall status of the blood coagulation system and the intensity of the pathology, while simultaneously recording all the accompanying influences.
These global tests provide an overall overview of the status, allowing doctors to predict whether the patient is prone to hypercoagulability or hypocoagulability.
Global testing plays a key role in the initial stages of diagnosis and provides a basis for subsequent detailed testing.
Local Test
Local tests mainly detect the effectiveness of individual components of the coagulation system and the status of coagulation factors. The benefit of this test is that it can pinpoint the pathology, such as the D-dimer test, which can indicate the risk of completed thrombosis.
The results of these tests are important in identifying the specific clotting abnormality, which helps doctors better plan treatment.
In addition, the choice of test will affect the accuracy of the results. Doctors need to choose the appropriate test method based on the sample being tested, which can be divided into different types such as platelet-thin plasma, platelet-rich plasma and whole blood.
Specific global tests
In global testing, there are several specific methods worth paying attention to:
- Thromboelastometry (TEG): This test measures overall blood coagulation, although the information it provides does not include the kinetics of thrombin formation.
- Thrombin Generation Assay (TGA): provides information about the catalyst for the reaction that converts fibrinogen to fibrils and is suitable for use with platelet-poor or platelet-rich plasma.
- Overall Hemostatic Potential (OHP): This is a new test that, although not yet widely accepted, shows possible potential.
Specific local tests
In terms of local testing, some specific tests focus more on agents of the coagulation pathway:
- Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT): detects the speed of the intrinsic coagulation pathway and is suitable for testing plasma cells.
- Prothrombin time test (INR): relative to the rate of passage of the extrinsic coagulation pathway, can test for specific factors.
These tests can reveal not only how the coagulation system is functioning, but also potential health risks.
With the advancement of modern medical technology, the demand for accuracy and convenience of blood coagulation testing is increasing. This can not only help detect health problems early, but also guide specific clinical interventions. Have you ever thought about how helpful taking a blood clotting test could be in understanding your health?
