THROMBIN GENERATION TEST AS AN INTEGRAL ANALYSIS OF THE HEMOSTASIS SYSTEM: TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES AND APPLICATION IN LABORATORY PRACTICE

Abstract

This review is devoted to one of the integral tests for assessing the hemostasis system — the thrombin generation test (TGT), its technical characteristics, problems in standardization and possible clinical use. Evaluation of thrombin generation (TG) is more sensitive to changes occurring in the hemostasis system, since it takes into account the effect of both procoagulant and anticoagulant factors in the process of TG. It is important to note that there are options for setting TGT in platelet-rich plasma or in whole blood, which brings the researcher closer to in vivo conditions. However, despite the obvious advantages of this analysis when compared with routine screening tests for assessing the hemostasis system, there are number of limitations, including the lack of standardization, which does not currently allow the introduction of TGT into clinical practice. This review discusses the technical characteristics of TGT and variants of reagent kits depending on the clinical task, and provides the results of recent studies in the field of clinical use of TGT, demonstrating the prospects of GT analysis for assessing the risk of both hemorrhagic complications and thrombotic events.