FREE LIVE WEBINARS FOR MEMBERS & NON MEMBERS

Each month, the NATA scientific committee organises a one-hour interactive session led by top experts, featuring a hot topic related to clinical practice.

Registered participants can submit questions during the session.

UPCOMING WEBINAR

Coagulation: classic lab tests or viscoelastic techniques?

Time: 18:00 – 19:00 CET

Basic lab tests: The best way to use them

Marc Samama

Classical laboratory tests (Prothrombin Time, Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time, Fibrinogen (Clauss method) and Platelet count represent the first basic coagulation evaluation in the bleeding patient and the most common one. 

The properties and limits of each of these test will be detailed and practical clinical examples will be provided. At the end of this short lecture, the participants should be convinced of the strength and usefulness of these tests.

Learning objectives: 

  • To be able to describe the four most common coagulation tests
  • To understand their respective indications and limits
  • To be convinced to prefer to prescribe these tests instead of viscoelastic ones

Viscoelastic testing: the worst way to use them

Thorsten Haas

Viscoelastic testing (VET) is a real-time, whole blood, point-of-care measurement to assess clot formation, strength, and clot lysis. The available VET assays help to identify the contribution and potential disruptions of platelets, fibrinogen, and coagulation factors to clotting. 

This talk is intended to give a brief overview of VET tools and will give a comprehensive update of current literature. A special focus will be on the rational use of VET to guide bleeding management in the clinical practice. 

Learning objectives:

  • To describe how the test works, what it measures, and to describe the benefits and limitations. 
  • To understand how to use the information from the VET test to guide bleeding management.
  • To give examples of a reasonable approach how to use VET.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • The limitations of traditional biomarkers like serum ferritin and transferrin saturation in inflammatory states.
  • How CRP can be used in the interpretation of ID biomarkers.
  • An evidence based approach to improve diagnostic accuracy in hospitalised and unwell patients.
  • The role of serum ferritin as the most reliable parameter and the limited utility of reticulocyte hemoglobin in diagnosis of ID.


Iron deficiency is a highly prevalent condition with effective treatment options, but various diagnostic pitfalls prevent many patients from receiving therapy. Concurrent inflammation is a key cause of underdiagnosis and requires a nuanced clinical approach. We will present findings from a cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The study evaluated optimal biomarker thresholds for diagnosing ID, using bone marrow (BM) iron stores as the gold standard and C-reactive protein (CRP) as an inflammatory marker.

 

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