ECAT Assay Procedures [antikvár]

Preface This book offers a description of current and recently developed laboratory assays in the field of haemostasis and thrombosis. It is the result of a unique cooperation between experts from more than 60 institutes in 12 European countries, brought together by the ECAT (European Concerted Action on Thrombosis and Disabilities) under the auspices of the Commission of the European Communities in Brussels, Belgium. The ECAT, which was initiated in 1981, designed and performed three prospective clinical studies to establish haemostatic factors as risk indicators of thrombosis. Included were patients with angina pectoris at risk from myocardial infarction, patients undergoing angioplasty at risk from re-stenosis, and patients receiving hip replacement at risk from deep venous thrombosis. Assay procedures were chosen, training courses for technicians held, and essential reagents were supplied from a central source. A quality control assessment scheme served to compare assay results both within and between laboratories. In the angina pectoris study, centres determined most of the assays locally; in the other two studies assays were performed centrally. The need for further quality assessment in Europe led to a separate activity coordinated by Dr J. F. Davidson in Glasgow, including coagulation inhibitors and plasminogen as risk factors for familial venous thrombosis. The Editors hope the ECAT Assay Procedures book will contribute to further harmonization of haemostasis assays, and ultimately to their standardization. The need for this is evident from the failure of the ECAT quality controls to demonstrate an obvious improvement in the agreement in haemostasis assay results between laboratories. This book has been preceded by two editions produced for internal use only. Each assay was assessed by an expert who functioned in the ECAT as representative of a reference laboratory. An assay committee coordinated the activities. Each chapter in this book is written by the assay expert. Most of the chapters give a detailed description of the assay recommended for use in ECAT and briefly mention alternatives. For this reason we have included a list of firms marketing kits and vii