An analysis of discrepancy between point-of-care and central laboratory international normalized ratio testing in ED patients with cerebrovascular disease.

Objective: Our objective was to identify demographic, clinical, and operational variables associated with discrepancy between point-of-care (POC) and central laboratory international normalized ratio (INR) results in emergency department (ED) patients with acute cerebrovascular disease.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational cohort study of a series of 637 patients with acute cerebrovascular disease over 30 months who underwent simultaneous POC, using the i-STAT POC analyzer (Abbott, Princeton, NJ), and central laboratory INR testing at ED presentation. Point-of-care INR results greater than ± 0.