Method Description

The factor VIII assay is performed on the Instrumentation Laboratory ACL TOP using the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) method and a factor-deficient substrate. Patient plasma is combined and incubated with a factor VIII-deficient substrate (normal plasma depleted of factor VIII by immunoadsorption) and an aPTT reagent. After a specified incubation time, calcium is added to trigger the coagulation process in the mixture. Then the time to clot formation is measured optically using a wavelength of 671 nm.(Owen CA Jr, Bowie EJW, Thompson JH Jr. Diagnosis of Bleeding Disorders. 2nd ed. Little, Brown and Company; 1975; Cielsa B. Defects of plasma clotting factors. In: Hematology in Practice. 3rd ed. FA Davis; 2019:chap 17)

The factor VIII inhibitor screen consists of measuring the difference in factor VIII activity (partial thromboplastin time-based assay) before and after incubation of a mixture of normal plasma and patient's plasma for 1 hour at 37° C. For optimal sensitivity, the factor VIII value of the normal plasma is adjusted to approximately 20%, because the factor VIII assay is more sensitive in this area of the curve. In addition, an excess of patient's plasma will make the test more sensitive to small amounts of inhibitors.(Owen CA Jr, Bowie EJW, Thompson JH Jr. The Diagnosis of Bleeding Disorders. 2nd ed. Little, Brown, and Company; 1975:143-145; Cielsa B. Defects of plasma clotting factors. In: Hematology in Practice. 3rd ed. FA Davis; 2019:chap 17)

If the inhibitor screen is positive for an inhibitor of factor VIII, the inhibitor will be quantitated by the Bethesda assay. In the Bethesda procedure, inhibitors are quantified by mixing equal volumes of serially diluted plasma with normal plasma. This mixture is incubated 2 hours at 37° C, and its factor VIII activity is measured and compared to a control run at the same time. The difference between the factor VIII activity of the patient's incubation mixture and that of the control is used to calculate the titer. The residual factor VIII activity is converted to Bethesda units: 50% residual factor VIII is equal to 1 Bethesda unit. Assays using the same basic principle as the Bethesda assay are used to quantitate the inhibitors of the other coagulation factors. (Kasper CK, Aldedort LM, Counts RB, et al. A more uniform measurement of factor VIII inhibitors. Thromb Diath Haemorrh. 1975;34:869-872; Cielsa B. Defects of plasma clotting factors. In: Hematology in Practice. 3rd ed. FA Davis; 2019:chap 17)