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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Pathology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1421727
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding and Improving Hemostatic Resuscitation Through the Lens of a Bioengineer: Why Surfaces and Materials Matter View all 4 articles

The thromboelastogram is confounded by hematocrit in clinical samples tested on both mechanical and acoustic platforms

Provisionally accepted
Aaron S. Hess Aaron S. Hess *
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Red blood cells are critical participants in normal hemostasis, but in vitro experiments have shown that the thromboelastogram (TEG) maximum amplitude has a paradoxical inverse relationship with hematocrit. This study reviewed all samples at a single academic institution where any mechanical (TEG 5000) or acoustic (TEG 6s) TEG was drawn within 5 min of hematocrit measurement. A total of 7,176 samples were identified using complete TEG and conventional coagulation test data (6,384 mechanical, 744 acoustic, and 48 both). In the primary analysis, hematocrit was negatively associated with the maximum amplitude on both mechanical and acoustic platforms after adjusting for relevant confounders. This suggests that the thromboelastogram may misrepresent the contribution of red blood cells in normal hemostasis.

    Keywords: Hemostasis, Thromboelastogram, red blood cells, Fibrinogen, Hematocrit

    Received: 22 Apr 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hess. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Aaron S. Hess, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States

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