Critical laboratory values in hemostasis: toward consensus

Giuseppe Lippi, Dorothy Adcock, Ana-Maria Simundic, Armando Tripodi, Emmanuel J Favaloro

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The term "critical values" can be defined to entail laboratory test results that significantly lie outside the normal (reference) range and necessitate immediate reporting to safeguard patient health, as well as those displaying a highly and clinically significant variation compared to previous data. The identification and effective communication of "highly pathological" values has engaged the minds of many clinicians, health care and laboratory professionals for decades, since these activities are vital to good laboratory practice. This is especially true in hemostasis, where a timely and efficient communication of critical values strongly impacts patient management. Due to the heterogeneity of available data, this paper is hence aimed to analyze the state of the art and provide an expert opinion about the parameters, measurement units and alert limits pertaining to critical values in hemostasis, thus providing a basic document for future consultation that assists laboratory professionals and clinicians alike. KEY MESSAGES Critical values are laboratory test results significantly lying outside the normal (reference) range and necessitating immediate reporting to safeguard patient health. A broad heterogeneity exists about critical values in hemostasis worldwide. We provide here an expert opinion about the parameters, measurement units and alert limits pertaining to critical values in hemostasis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)455-461
Number of pages7
JournalAnnals of Medicine
Volume49
Issue number6
Early online date10 Feb 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2017

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Critical laboratory values in hemostasis: toward consensus'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this