Coagulation Assays in the Critically Ill Patient: a New Approach Using the Thrombomodulin-modified Thrombin Generation Assay (TGA-TM)

Inflammation and abnormalities in laboratory coagulation tests are inseparably tied. For example, coagulation abnormalities are nearly universal in septic patients. Coagulation disorders have also been reported in many patients with severe courses of Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). But it is difficult to assess these changes. Global coagulation tests have been shown to incorrectly assess in vivo coagulation in patients admitted to intensive care units. But other tests are available. Thrombin generation assay (TGA) is a laboratory test which allows the assessment of an individual's potential to generate thrombin. But also in conventional TGA the protein C system is hardly activated because of the absence of endothelial cells (containing natural thrombomodulin) in the plasma sample. Therefore the investigators add recombinant human thrombomodulin to a conventional TGA. Thereby the investigators hope to be able to depict in vivo coagulation more closely than global coagulation tests do.