Clot
Retraction Test - 1
Function:
Measures primary hemostasis,
specifically platelet function
Principle of test:
Non-anticoagulated whole blood is
placed in a 37oC water bath and inspected at 1 hour, 2 hours, 4, hours, and 24 hours.
Some retraction of the clot should
be seen within 1 hour and complete by 24 hours.
Clinical application: abnormal retraction seen
in:
Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia
Thrombocytopenia (<100,000/mL)
Paraproteins seen in multiple
myeloma
Polycythemia – many free red cells