JRBiomedical has released Milenia Quickline HIT, a qualitative test for the detection of IgG antibodies against platelet factor 4 (PF4) for the diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).
According to JRBiomedical, HIT is a life-threatening syndrome occurring in up to five per cent of patients being treated with heparin.
HIT is caused by antibodies directed against a complex of platelet factor 4 (PF4) and polyanions such as heparin.
There is evidence for a correlation between antibody concentration and clinical severity.
Platelet activation and massively enhanced thrombin generation promotes venous and/ or arterial thromboembolism where the rate of severe patient injury and mortality is very high.
Excluding HIT antibodies is an important step towards selecting the most appropriate anticoagulation strategy.
A study of 455 samples revealed a high degree of agreement of results with ELISA and the functional HIPA test.
All HIT positive patients based on the functional assay were correctly identified.
According to JRBiomedical, Milenia Quickline HIT shows a tendency for less false positive results compared to IgG-specific ELISA tests.
