Coagulation and fibrinolysis are essential areas of laboratory medicine and clinical pathology that are often over-shadowed by larger sections of the clinical laboratory. While we get used to running many prothrombin (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) tests, we can forget that there are other, more nuanced coagulation tests that can help diagnose disorders and dysfunctions of the coagulation cascade. The goal for this course is to reacquaint laboratorians with some of the more common coagulation disorders and describe the testing used to differentiate and diagnose them. Although the aim of this course is not to delve too deeply into test methodologies, it will be important to briefly describe the rational and analytical techniques used for the testing mentioned.
It must also be noted that there are dozens of coagulopathies. This course is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive exploration into these many heritable and acquired diseases and conditions. Instead, we will focus on the most common disorders that laboratorians would expect to encounter. As you go through the course pay particular attention to the acuity (i.e. the severity) of each condition. Also note how they differ from each other with regards to testing and clinical presentation.
