Point‐Of‐Care Testing in Hemostasis

Point-of-care (POC) testing in hemostasis has been in use for more than 50 years with a major expansion in recent years. Tests can be divided into either specific versions of conventional laboratory tests such as the international normalized ratio (INR) or activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), global tests of hemostasis such as thromboelastography and activated clotting times, and tests of platelet function. Recently there has been a proliferation of devices for determination of the INR for monitoring of oral anticoagulant therapy with testing by many different types of healthcare professional and, more recently, patient self-testing and patient self-management. There has also been an increase in the number of devices in use for POC platelet function testing, in part because of the increased use of different antiplatelet agents. This chapter describes some general principles relevant to POC hemostasis testing as well as reviewing what is available in each of the specific areas of this field.