Screening for lupus anticoagulant: improving the performance of the lupus-sensitive PTT-LA

Lupus anticoagulant mixing tests for multiple reagents are more sensitive if interpreted with a mixing test-specific cut-off than index of circulating anticoagulant

BACKGROUND

Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is classified in the antibody family that is recognized as antiphospholipid antibodies. Guidelines for LA detection recommend mixing test interpretation with either a mixing test specific cut-off (MTC) or index of circulating anticoagulant (ICA). We previously evidenced that MTC was superior to ICA in detecting the in vitro inhibition of LA with a single dilute APTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) and dRVVT (diluted Russell's viper venom time) pairing.

OBJECTIVES

The objective in the present study was to compare the LA diagnostic effectiveness of MTC and ICA by multiple APTT and dRVVT reagents.

METHODS

One hundred-five samples from non-anticoagulated patients positive for LA in the dilute APTT (dAPTT) and dRVVT reagent pairing employed for diagnostic examination were performed by undiluted and in a 1:1 mix with normal pooled plasma with four additional APTT reagents and another dRVVT reagent (dRVVT B).

RESULTS

Frequencies of MTC and ICA positivity were determined from samples LA positive in undiluted plasma. MTC positivity in mixing test were 63%, 77%, 80%, 84%, 46%, 81%, and 72% in 4 APTT, dAPTT and 2 dRVVT, respectively. ICA positivity were 47%, 67%, 58%, 54%, 42%, 47%, and 29%, respectively. There were no samples of ICA-positive/MTC-negative with any reagent.

CONCLUSIONS

The data indicate that MTC is superior to ICA for LA detection in mixing tests in multiple reagents and reagent types. Although mixing tests may make weak LA samples appear negative, the efficacy of LA detection can be improved by the method to interpret the results.

Rapid exclusion or confirmation of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: a single-center experience with 1,291 patients

BACKGROUND

The current gold-standard for diagnosing heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is the detection of platelet-activating antibodies by means of functional assays which, since they are time consuming and not widely available, are not suited to guiding acute treatment decisions. The objective of our study was to assess the ability of more rapid immunoassays to predict the presence of functionally relevant anti-platelet factor 4/heparin-antibodies.

DESIGN AND METHODS

We analyzed 1,291 of 1,383 (93.4%) patients consecutively evaluated for suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia at our institution. Clinical pre-test probability was defined by the 4T-score. Anti-platelet factor 4/heparin-antibodies were measured with three immunoassays (ID-H/PF4-PaGIA, Asserachrom-HPIA, and GTI-PF4) and their functional relevance was assessed by a two-point heparin-induced platelet aggregation test. Performance of the immunoassays was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic analysis.

RESULTS

Among 1,291 patients, 96 (7.4%) had a positive heparin-induced platelet aggregation-test: 7 of 859 (0.8%) with a low, 50 of 358 (14.0%) with an intermediate, and 39 of 74 (52.7%) with a high 4T-score. Receiver operating characteristics analysis indicated that best immunoassay thresholds for predicting a positive platelet aggregation test were: Titer of 4 or more (ID-H/PF4-PaGIA), optical density more than 0.943 (Asserachrom-HPIA) and more than 1.367 (GTI-PF4). A 100% negative predictive value was observed at the following thresholds: Titer of 1 or under (ID-H/PF4-PaGIA), optical density less than 0.300 (Asserachrom-HPIA) and less than 0.870 (GTI-PF4). A 100% positive predictive value was reached only by ID-H/PF4-PaGIA, at titers of 32 or over. Positive and negative likelihood ratios were calculated for results between the thresholds with 100% negative or positive predictive value.

CONCLUSIONS

We show that: i) negative and weak positive results of immunoassays detecting anti-platelet factor 4/heparin-antibodies exclude heparin-induced thrombocytopenia; ii) anti-platelet factor 4/heparin-antibody titers of 32 or over (ID-H/PF4-PaGIA) have a 100% positive predictive value for functionally relevant antibodies; iii) combining the clinical pre-test probability with the likelihood ratio of intermediate immunoassay results allows assessment of post-test probability for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in individual patients.