Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Accuracy of clotting tests in stored blood samples from sick dogs
By Maunder, C L et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2012·School of Veterinary Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Measurement of prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time in citrated whole blood samples from clinically ill dogs following storage.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 40 dogs with various health issues had their blood tested to see how storage affected clotting times. The tests measured two important clotting times: prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time. It was found that while the prothrombin time remained consistent even after 24 to 48 hours of storage at room temperature, the activated partial thromboplastin time was shorter than expected. This means that while one test result is reliable, the other may not be if the blood is not processed quickly.
People also search for: dog blood test results · dog clotting time test · why is my dog bleeding easily
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To assess the reliability of prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time results generated from citrated whole blood samples following short-term storage at room temperature. METHODS: Clotting times were measured in blood samples from 40 dogs that showed a variety of clinical signs. Before measurement of prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time in citrated plasma, whole blood samples were split in three aliquots; one was processed within 30 minutes of collection (fresh) while the remaining two were stored unseparated at room temperature for 24 (24RT) or 48 (48RT) hours. RESULTS: The median prothrombin time for the 24RT (7 seconds) and 48RT (7·2 seconds) samples were not significantly different to those obtained from the fresh (7·1 seconds) samples but the median activated partial thromboplastin time for the 24RT (12·6 seconds) and 48RT (12 seconds) samples were significantly shorter than those obtained from the fresh samples (14·2 seconds). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Storage of citrated whole blood at room temperature for 24 or 48 hours did not significantly alter the measurement of prothrombin time but resulted in significantly shorter activated partial thromboplastin time results. Extrapolating from these findings, it is proposed that unseparated clinical samples that are submitted to an external diagnostic laboratory for the performance of clotting times, may generate reliable prothrombin time but unreliable activated partial thromboplastin time results.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22860986/