Evaluation of Point-of-Care Coagulation Measurement Systems for Activated Clotting Time and Partial Thromboplastin Time in Heparinized and Non-Heparinized Equine Blood.

Point-of-care ACT monitoring appears clinically viable for equine patients; aPTT POC needs refinement.

This prospective observational study evaluated point-of-care (POC) coagulation measurement devices in healthy equine blood. Thirty horses underwent ACT and aPTT testing using both POC analyzers and conventional stationary devices on non-heparinized and heparinized samples within 30 minutes of collection. The stationary ACT device and POC ACT tubes demonstrated moderate correlation with acceptable bias and low intraassay coefficient of variation (<5%), showing no significant difference in non-heparinized or heparinized samples. However, the POC aPTT device exhibited strong correlation but unacceptable bias and high intraassay variation (>5%), differing significantly from the stationary aPTT device in non-heparinized samples. While aPTT stationary values remained within published ranges, the findings support POC ACT as a viable, low-cost monitoring tool for equine coagulopathy and heparin therapy. The authors acknowledge that rigorous clinical evaluation in diseased patients remains necessary before widespread clinical adoption.

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