Additional Information
Level of instruction: Intermediate
Intended Audience: Medical laboratory scientists, medical technologists, and technicians, This course is also appropriate for medical laboratory science students and pathology residents.
Author information: Leah Coppolino, MPH, CLS(NCA), MT(ASCP) is the Director of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Thomas Jefferson University.
Reviewer information: Donna D. Castellone, MS, MT(ASCP)SH has worked as a coagulation specialist in both clinical and commercial settings. Ms. Castellone holds a Masters Degree in Health Science and Administration from State University at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York. She has written over 70 articles, was a contributing author for 3 textbooks, and is a frequent lecturer at laboratory workshops.
Reviewer informaion: Pinal Patel, MT (AMT), is a Laboratory Education Specialist at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. She has been with Cleveland Clinic since 2005 and worked as a Medical Technologist in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and transitioned to Educational Specialist role in 2016. She received Bachelor degree in Science major in Microbiology from Gujarat State University, India. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS).
Course description: Prolonged PT and aPTT results are caused by many different conditions. It is important for medical technologists to be able to distinguish between preanalytic causes, secondary clinical causes, and important and potentially dangerous causes such as coagulation factor deficiencies and circulating coagulation factor inhibitors. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to identify: the common causes associated with prolonged PT and/or aPTT results, when it is appropriate to perform a mixing study, how to perform and interpret mixing studies, how to differentiate between factor deficiencies and factor inhibitors, and further testing that can be done to confirm mixing study results.