Abstract
BACKGROUND: For whole blood aggregation on the Multiplate® system, the use of thrombin inhibitor as anticoagulant is recommended. So far sample tubes containing liquid lepirudin were provided (Dynabyte, Munich, Germany). They are not sterile and have to be stored refrigerated. For better handling now also sterile tubes with dried hirudin, storable at room temperature, are also provided (Dynabyte). The aim of this study was to compare the performance of these both sample tubes on the Multiplate system. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Blood was collected from 30 patients, treated with aspirin and/or clopidogrel, in tubes, and ASPItest, ADPtest and TRAPtest were performed. RESULTS: The correlation between both sample tubes was excellent with ASPItest (r(2) = 0.96), good with ADPtest (r(2) = 0.91) and also satisfying with TRAPtest (r(2) = 0.85). CONCLUSION: Both sample tubes are well qualified for platelet function analysis with the Multiplate system. The new sterile sample tube with dried hirudin may be preferred for better handling.