Why the study?
Does the use of certified plasma calibrants reduce inter-laboratory variation in INR testing?
Does the use of certified plasma calibrants reduce inter-laboratory variation in INR testing?
The use of certified plasma calibrants may reduce unacceptable inter-laboratory variation in INR testing for patients on warfarin, prompting a need for consensus guidelines.
Persistent INR variation may affect warfarin dosing accuracy; leaves open calibrant efficacy pending consensus guidelines and validation.
The INR was introduced in 1983 as a means of standardizing the prothrombin time test and improving management of patients receiving warfarin-based oral anticoagulant therapy. Despite the eventual widespread use of the INR system, unacceptable levels of inter-laboratory variation persist. The use of certified plasma calibrants has been studied as a means to reducing INR variation. This review examines the pre-analytical and analytical variables contributing to INR problems. Also, the findings of several multicenter studies in which plasma calibrants were deployed are presented. Issues such as the number of calibrants used and their composition, calibrant format, plasma citrate concentration, reference thromboplastins used, methods of calibrant certification and alternative techniques for local system calibration are examined. The development of consensus guidelines on the use of plasma calibrants for INR standardization is recommended.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Adcock et al. (2000) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: