Stability of Hemostasis Parameters in Whole Blood, Plasma, and Frozen Plasma: Literature Review and Recommendations of the SFTH (French Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis).

Preanalytical sample management is critical for a proper assessment of hemostasis parameters, and may differ depending on prescribed tests or additional tests considered to be necessary after initial results. Although there is quite vast literature on this issue, the Working Group of the French Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (SFTH) deemed it necessary to make an in-depth literature review and propose recommendations for the proper handling of samples prior to hemostasis assays. This extensive assessment is accessible on-line in French at the SFTH website.

Comparative study of coagulation and thrombin generation in the portal and jugular plasma of patients with cirrhosis.

Portal vein thromboses are frequent in cirrhotic patients and may be favoured by hypercoagulability in the splanchnic venous system. The coagulation balance and thrombin generation (TG) were evaluated in platelet-free plasma obtained from portal and systemic blood samples in 28 cirrhotic patients while undergoing transjugular intrahepatic porto-systemic shunt. TG assay (TGA) was performed with all samples from cirrhotic patients and with plasma samples from 14 healthy controls, with varying concentrations of tissue factor and phospholipids, with or without thrombomodulin.

Factor v Leiden homozygous genotype and pregnancy outcomes.

Objective: To assess the rate of early (first trimester) and late (second and third trimester) fetal loss in women who are factor V Leiden homozygous.

Methods: Between December 1995 and February 2007, consecutive, unrelated white women who were factor V Leiden homozygous and who had been pregnant at least once were recruited from 10 French hemostasis units. For reasons of comparison, we included women who were factor V Leiden heterozygous and a group of noncarriers.

Thrombin generation in first-degree relatives of patients with venous thromboembolism who have factor V Leiden. A pilot study.

The thrombin generation test appears to be a highly sensitive and specific test in the detection of thrombophilia in patients with venous thromboembolism. We aimed to determine the accuracy of the thrombin generation test to detect factor V Leiden and/or other prothrombotic states in first-degree relatives of patients with venous thromboembolism and factor V Leiden. Sixty-two first-degree relatives of 21 index cases were tested for factor V Leiden, the G20210A prothrombin gene mutation and thrombin generation.

Fibrinogen Aalpha-Thr312Ala and factor XIII-A Val34Leu polymorphisms in idiopathic venous thromboembolism.

Introduction: Fibrinogen Aalpha-Thr312Ala and Factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphisms have been shown to modify fibrin clot structure and function. However, clinical studies have yielded conflicting results on their possible association with venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Methods: We studied the association between these two polymorphisms and VTE in a hospital-based case-control study.

Increased prevalence of factor V Leiden in patients with retinal vein occlusion and under 60 years of age.

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a multifactorial disease involving vessel damage, stasis, viscosity and thrombosis. Conflicting findings on hereditary thrombophilic risk factors have been reported and their impact on RVO features remains to be defined. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of hereditary thrombophilic risk factors (HTRF) and characteristics of RVO in patients with or without HTRF.

Ischaemic strokes and homozygosity for the alpha2 807T allele of the platelet collagen receptor in young monozygotic twins.

A nucleotide 807T variant of the glycoprotein Ia gene that correlates with increased platelet surface levels of the platelet collagen receptor alpha2beta1 was recently found to be associated with an increased risk of ischaemic stroke in younger patients. We report the history of twins who developed ischaemic strokes and were shown to be homozygous for the alpha2 807T allele. The twins developed ischaemic strokes at the ages of 23 and 33 years, one of them with recurrent events.