Why the study?
Does the APTT test accurately reflect therapeutic heparin concentrations in blood samples?
Does the APTT test accurately reflect therapeutic heparin concentrations in blood samples?
The APTT test may be unreliable for monitoring heparin therapy due to poor concordance with actual heparin concentrations and false prolongations in patients not on anticoagulants.
APTT may unreliably reflect heparin levels; leaves open whether alternative assays improve monitoring accuracy or outcomes.
Of 1068 blood samples referred for evaluation of the haemostatic mechanism 135 contained heparin as judged by the polybrene titration method. Of the 57 samples with a heparin concentration in the defined therapeutic range, 65 per cent had APTT values in the "therapeutic range". Of the samples from patients who had not received any anticoagulant, 213 (24 per cent) had prolonged APTT, and 48 of these samples had APTT values in the "therapeutic range" for heparin therapy. It is suggested that the APTT test is of limited value in monitoring heparin therapy.
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Teien et al. (1976) studied this question.
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