Haematology

Preferred Sample Type

Inhibitor Screen

Inhibitor Screen

Specimen Volume

2 x 3.5 mL

Specimen Transport

Standard transport to laboratory - State for the attention of Special Coagulation on request form

Sample Preparation

Samples for any coagulation tests must be filled to the black fill line indicated on the sample tube. Any sample filled above or below this level will be rejected and a repeat sample will be required.

Turnaround Time

21 days

Sample Processing In Laboratory

Sample should be centrifuged

Sample Stability

12 hours from venepuncture (ideally received no later than 4 hours after collection)

General Information

Samples that meet the following criteria will not be processed:

  • Haemolysed, clotted, underfilled or overfilled samples.
  • Samples >12 hours old from the time of collection.
  • Samples received from other hospital laboratories that have been frozen and thawed.
  • Samples which fail the minimum data set.

Assay Limitations:

  • Before screening for the presence of a possible inhibitor, it should be confirmed that preanalytical factors are not responsible for prolonged coagulation test(s) and there is no known medical condition, e.g. liver disease, vitamin K deficiency, or DIC.
  • Anticoagulant therapy may interfere with the detection of circulating inhibitors. Warfarin should be discontinued before sample procurement for an inhibitor screen, and heparin should be discontinued for two days. Since heparin inhibits the activity of multiple coagulation factors in the APTT test, it is advisable to perform a thrombin time to rule out heparin contamination prior to performing any mixing study.
  • Immediate acting non-specific inhibitors such as Lupus Anticoagulants can occasionally give a prolongation of the PT/APTT on a 50:50 mix with normal plasma before  incubation. This may interfere with/invalidate results and further investigations may be necessary to exclude this.

Reference Range

<12% difference between incubated and immediate mix APTT

Specifications

  • EQAS Scheme: No

Creation Date

Saturday, 24 November 2018

Modification Date

Wednesday, 10 March 2021

General Information

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Location of Laboratories

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Copyright UHB Pathology 2018

Protection of Personal Information – Clinical Laboratory Services comply with the Trust Data Protection Policy and have procedures in place to allow the Directorate and it’s employees to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and associated best practice and guidance.

University Hospitals Birmingham medical laboratories at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital and Solihull Hospital are UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accredited to the ISO 15189:2012 standard. For a list of accredited tests and other information please visit the UKAS website using the following link: https://www.ukas.com/find-an-organisation/

  • Molecular Pathology is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8759
  • Biochemistry is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8910
  • Haematology and Transfusion is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8784
  • Clinical Microbiology is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8760
  • Cellular Pathology is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 10141
  • Musculoskeletal laboratory is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 9897
  • Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull Hospital pathology laboratories are a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No.8217.

Tests not appearing on the UKAS Schedule of Accreditation currently remain outside of our scope of accreditation. However, these tests have been validated to the same high standard as accredited tests and are performed by the same trained and competent staff.

For further test information, please visit the test database: http://qehbpathology.uk/test-database

For further information contact Louise Fallon, Quality Manager, 0121 371 5962