A coagulation analyzer is a laboratory equipment through which coagulation factors can be measured with precision and accuracy, essential elements required to stop bleeding, and in this way identify the possible abnormalities that can lead to excessive bleeding or thrombosis

It is important to clarify that the hemostatic system is involved in the organism’s defense system that is essential for life. On the one hand, it prevents both blood loss and blood flow alterations and contributes to the repair of tissue and vascular damage.

In addition, it participates in the formation of new connective tissue and in revascularization. It is made up of a series of biochemical reactions that are carried out at the blood-endothelium interface.

What happens to a vascular aggression?

In the event of vascular aggression, a series of events occur that will try to prevent blood loss through vasoconstriction, platelet aggregation at the site of injury, activation of coagulation factors, which will lead to the formation of a clot; and subsequently, the performance of the fibrinolytic system in the dissolution of the clot and restitution of the integrity of the endothelium.

During this process different factors or components participate, necessary for the maintenance of a normal hemostasis, such as: vascular, platelet, plasma and fibrinolytic, with their factors and inhibitors.

The endothelial cell has an important participation in hemostasis because coagulation reactions develop on its surface, substances are synthesized and secreted and it is in contact with the subendothelium. The substances synthesized and secreted are divided into 2 large groups: procoagulants, such as thrombospondin, tissue factor, fibronectin, von Willebrand factor, factors related to the contact system, factor V, among others; and anticoagulants, such as thrombomodulin, antithrombin receptor, tissue plasminogen activator, prostacyclin (PGI2), to name a few.

Platelets are small cells with a half-life between 7 and 10 days, whose presence is essential for the development of the initial phase of coagulation.

The third component involved in hemostasis is the factors and inhibitors of coagulation and fibrinolysis, which includes procoagulant elements, anticoagulants and fibrinolytic agents.

What coagulation tests are available in the laboratory?

Numerous techniques have been developed in the laboratory for the study of these stages in order to determine the cause of the hemorrhagic and thrombotic processes. Some of these techniques are very complicated and can only be performed in specialized laboratories. However, others are very simple, such as those of the coagulogram, and have a wide utility in laboratories linked to assistance, since many of the tests that integrate the coagulogram can be performed using an automated coagulation analyzer.

In this orientation process, clinical information and laboratory studies must be integrated, allowing the appropriate use of the tests offered and obtaining the necessary answers for decision-making at the lowest possible cost, both for the patient and for the economy from the country.

What is the coagulogram?

The coagulogram is a set of tests that evaluate the operation of the different components of the hemostatic system in a global and guiding way. Its importance lies fundamentally in the simplicity of its realization and in the availability of the means and resources for its execution. This set of tests is composed of: loop test, bleeding time, platelet count, clot retraction, coagulation time, prothrombin time (TP), activated partial thromboplastin time (TPTA) and thrombin time (TT).

In Kalstein we have a fully automated coagulation analyzer with excellent performance, ideal for laboratories with a large volume of samples, performs coagulation, chromogenic and immunochemical tests simultaneously. Through a series of built-in features, such as automatic repetition, dilution, reflective tests and multi-dilution analysis (MDA), our YR02222 analyzer adds speed and high processing capacity needed in large laboratories. That’s why we invite you to take a look HERE