Why the study?
Coagulation assessments remain poorly explored in chimpanzees despite the potential for hemostatic derangements, and portable point-of-care devices may be advantageous over laboratory assays in zoological settings.
Does the VCM Vet point-of-care device provide comparable coagulation assessment to TEG and CCP in managed care chimpanzees?
Does the VCM Vet point-of-care device provide comparable coagulation assessment to TEG and CCP in managed care chimpanzees?
The VCM Vet device provides a viable point-of-care alternative to TEG and CCP for evaluating coagulation in chimpanzees, establishing foundational reference values for this species.
May enable field coagulation testing in chimpanzees; leaves open validation against laboratory standards.
). Despite the potential for these states to induce hemostatic derangements, coagulation assessments remain poorly explored in this species. A portable, point-of-care device, such as VCM Vet (VCM), may be advantageous for evaluating coagulation kinetics in zoological and field settings opposed to laboratory thromboelastography (TEG) or conventional coagulation parameter (CCP) assays. Using whole blood opportunistically collected from anesthetized chimpanzees (n = 26), this study investigated proof of concept for VCM, established reference values for VCM clot formation and clot strength parameters, compared VCM profiles across sex, age, and sample collection characteristics, and compared clinical interpretations of VCM to plasma-based TEG and CCP. Samples from 25 chimpanzees were analyzed with the VCM, all of which produced interpretable kinetic tracings without error. Reference values were established based on results from 21 healthy chimpanzees from this sample population. Relative to established reference values in domestic dogs, cats, and horses, chimpanzees formed strong clots at a fast rate. Female chimpanzees formed significantly stronger clots than males, and older chimpanzees (>30 yr old) formed clots significantly faster than younger chimpanzees (≤30 yr old) (p < 0.05). Additionally, baseline values derived from descriptive statistics were reported for plasma-based TEG and CCP based on results from 19 healthy chimpanzees from the sample population. Comparisons made visually between VCM and TEG tracings, and between clinical interpretations for VCM, TEG, and CCP, support that these diagnostics may provide similar clinical information, although complete corroboration was limited due to evaluation in predominately healthy chimpanzees. This foundational dataset provides key reference values to encourage use of coagulation assessments and improve standard of care for chimpanzees in managed settings.
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Mumm et al. (2026) studied this question.
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