The Diagnosis of Bleeding Disorders.

Abstract

This book covers all clinical aspects of blood coagulation, but as the title indicates, the emphasis is on the<i>diagnosis</i>of congenital and acquired hemorrhagic diatheses. The reader will find over 30 tests of blood coagulation function described in detail. However, at least three of these tests are not performed in most clinical laboratories, even in laboratories with specialized coagulation units. For example, the retarded thromboplastin generation test was described some years ago by the Mayo group, yet is rarely performed outside the Mayo Clinic, presumably due to technical difficulties. Thromboelastography is another highly specialized procedure, with few laboratories having the expensive apparatus necessary to perform the test. Neither the<i>in vivo</i>nor<i>in vitro</i>methods of measuring platelet adhesiveness can be performed reliably in most hospital laboratories as they require a highly skilled technologist who is able to spend a considerable proportion of her daily time on the standardization