ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Procoagulant profile of 2019-nCoV/SARS-CoV-2 has been well documented over the last year. Perturbance in coagulating factors has also been reported in Covid-19 patients, including increased d-dimers and reports of lupus anticoagulant (LA). METHODS: The current study aimed to identify the incidence of positivity of lupus anticoagulant in Covid-19 patients and analyze the association between LA and D-dimer in predicting thrombosis and mortality in one-hundred and five hospitalized adult (age >14 years) patients and forty-three hospitalized pediatric (age <14 years) patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19 between June 2020 and September 2020. RESULTS: Twenty-one (20%) adult patients were tested positive for PTT LA, of which nine (8.6%) turned out to be confirmed positive for LA through StaClot and DRVVT Ratio tests. Six (14%) pediatric patients were positive for PTT LA, and only one (2.3%) had positive StaClot. Median D-dimer at admission was positively correlated with age and CRP among adult patients and was significantly higher in expired cases (P=0.001). No association between any of the coagulation tests and thrombosis or mortality was observed in the pediatric cohort. CONCLUSION: We report an increased incidence of LA in Covid-19 patients, yet we didn't find any association between thrombotic events or mortality, probably due to the small sample size.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The one-stage assay is the most common method to measure factor VIII activity (FVIII : C) in hemophilia A patients. The chromogenic assay is another two-stage test involving purified coagulation factors followed by factor Xa-specific chromogenic substrate. AIM: This study aimed to assess the discrepancy and correlation between the chromogenic and one-stage assays in measuring FVIII : C levels in hemophilia patients receiving Extended Half-Life Elocta® as a recombinant extended half-life coagulation factor. METHODS: We performed a study comparing the measurements of FVIII : C levels by the chromogenic versus the one-stage assays at different drug levels. Data of FVIII : C levels, dosage, and the time interval from administration to measurement were retrieved from the hospital records. The correlation, mean differences, and discrepancy between the two assays were calculated. The linear regression analysis was used to predict the time interval till reaching 1% FVIII : C. RESULTS: Fourteen patients with 56 samples were included in the study. Of them, 13 patients were receiving Elocta® as a prophylactic, while one was receiving Elocta® on demand. One-third of these samples showed a discrepancy between the chromogenic and one-stage assays. The two assays were well correlated. Mean differences were significant at the individual and the time interval level. The time since the last Elocta® injection could significantly predict FVIII : C levels (ß = 0.366, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested a significant difference between both methods; the FVIII : C levels measured by the one-stage assay were less than those estimated by the chromogenic assay. However, the measurements of FVIII levels by the two assays were well correlated but discrepant in one-third of the samples. The levels of FVIII : C reach 1% after 5.4 days since the last Elocta® administration.
