Method for determining the endogenous thrombin potential of plasma and blood

摘要

A method for determining the endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), which shows how much and for what length of time thrombin has been active in a sample of clotting blood or plasma. The ETP can be used for determining the effectiveness of treatment with antithrombotics of any type. Thus, the ETP determination comprises adding to a sample a thrombin substrate, an activator of thrombin formation, a preparation of proteaseinhibitor and if desired a pharmaceutical for analysis. The thrombin substrate is preferably selected to not completely consume the amount of thrombin generated in the sample, to have a rate of conversion of the substrate which is proportional to the amount of thrombin present and to have a measurable conversion product resulting from the conversion by thrombin. Determination of the amount of conversion product leads to determination of the ETP. The choice of activator determines whether the effect is measured on the intrinsic or extrinsic clotting system, making it possible to determine the effect of the pharmaceutical, which is being analyzed, on various parts of the clotting mechanism.