Assessment of platelet function: Laboratory and point-of-care methods

Abstract

In the event of blood vessel damage, human platelets are promptly recruited on the site of injury and, after their adhesion, activation and aggregation, prevent blood loss with the formation of a clot. The consequence of abnormal regulation can be either hemorrhage or the development of thrombosis. Qualitative and/or quantitative defects in platelets promote bleeding, whereas the residual reactivity of platelets, despite antiplatelet therapies, play an important role in promoting arterial thrombotic complications. Platelet function is traditionally assessed to investigate the origin of a bleeding syndrome, to predict the risk of bleeding prior surgery or during pregnancy or to monitor the efficacy of antiplatelet therapy in thrombotic syndromes that, now, can be considered a new discipline. “Old” platelet function laboratory tests such as the evaluation of bleeding time and the platelet aggregation analysis in platelet-rich plasma are traditionally utilized to aid in the diagnosis and management of patients with platelet and hemostatic disorders and used as diagnostic tools both in bleeding and thrombotic diathesis in specialized laboratories. Now, new and renewed automated systems have been introduced to provide a simple, rapid assessment of platelet function including point of care methods. These new methodologies are also suitable for being used in non-specialized laboratories and in critical area for assessing platelet function in whole blood without the requirement of sample processing. Some of these methods are also beginning to be incorporated into routine clinical use and can be utilized as not only as first panel for the diagnosis of platelet dysfunction, but also for monitoring anti-platelet therapy and to potentially assess risk of both bleeding and/or thrombosis.

Keywords: Platelets; Method; Test; Point of care testing; Laboratory assessment; Bleeding; Thrombosis; Platelet function

Core tip: This review discussed the scenario of available platelet function laboratory and point-of-care methods suitable in different clinical setting. As this matter has become of crucial importance in the bleeding management and for monitoring antiplatelet therapies, improved ability to assess platelet function in a timely and efficient manner is essential. Traditional platelet function methods, requiring a fair degree of expertise, have been limited to specialized laboratory. Many efforts have been carried out for improving platelet function assays for centralized laboratory, such as different point-of-care testing methodologies have been developed. Moreover, different guidelines and recommendations for their method standardization are growing.