Am J Health Syst Pharm.2005; 62: 1894-1903. Kelly L. Scolaro, Pamela L. Stamm and Kimberly Braxton Lloyd Copyright © 2005 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

INRs from POC instruments are unreliable in about 1/3rd of patients with the clotting disorder called antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APLA syndrome) who are on warfarin. In these patients, the POC devices give INR readings that are too high, or the instruments report error messages. This is the case with any of the 3 instruments on the market. If you have APLA syndrome, your INRs should be checked from blood drawn from a vein and tested in a laboratory.

Technical Bulletin from HemoSense makers of INRatio. Clearly states that APS effects its results. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them. However, if this document has been relocated again, please feel free to contact us for it.

11/16/06: CoaguChekS now has a 30% +/- acceptable standard of deviation.

Patient's story on her use of a Home INR Machine and supporting company information.

Discrepant results (accuracy) comparison of inratio test with lab results provided by end-user at time complaint was filed: date: early 2007, inratio: 2. 1, lab: 8. 5, mean: 5. 3, confidence limits: unable to be determined. Per internal procedure, the mean of the inratio meter and comparative system inr were calculated. The confidence limits cannot be determined. The readings are considered inaccurate based on "area outside the acceptance region" table. The results are considered discrepant within the context of the documented variability for inr testing. Therefore, further testing is required at this time. In troubleshooting found that the pt has antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. It was explained that possible interferences may be due to the varying levels of the antibodies. Pts condition may cause the discrepant errors.

I started this blog to help get the word out that Home INR machines are NOT safe to use for patients with Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome. If you have APS, please read! Thanks!

Anti-phospholipid antibodies can disrupt the phospholipid in the PT reagent that is necessary for the clotting reaction to occur thus artificially elevating the INR. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them. However, if this document has been relocated again, please feel free to contact us for it.

Thoratec's International Technidyne Corp. (ITC) division has received an FDA warning letter citing concerns about its quality systems, specifically those related to certain lots of its ProTime System anticoagulation monitoring device.....of incorrect readings of patient blood coagulation levels.

Registration Required to read story. "I called Roche and expressed my concerns about the reliability of the machine. They told me that at higher INRs (above 4.0) the machine becomes less reliable. They also told me that the machine doesn't work very well for people with Antiphospholipid Antibodies because these same antibodies are on the test strips! She said that especially when someone with APS is having a flare up the machine may not work well due to the high level of antibodies in the blood."

The i-STAT® PT/INR test is a whole blood determination of the prothrombin time used for monitoring oral anticoagulant (warfarin) therapy. The test determines the time required for complete activation of the extrinsic pathway of the coagulation cascade when initiated (activated) with a thromboplastin. Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks.

Representatives clearly state that this machine has problems with APS patients and patients with the Lupus Anticoagulant. Waiver for patients with APS must be signed. Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them.

Literature clearly states that this machine has problems with APS patient and patients with the Lupus Anticoagulant. This is for the CoaguChek, CoaguChekS and CoaguCheckXS. Please call technical support at 800-428-4674 for more information. Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them.

Registration Required to read this patient experience. "You're putting your life into a machine that is KNOWN to be wrong with APS patients...think TWICE...THREE times...FOUR times and Just say NO!"

Discrepant results (accuracy) comparison of inratio test with lab results provided by end-user at time complaint was filed: date: 01/05/07, inratio: 6. 1, lab: 3. 8, mean: 4. 95, confidence limits: 2. 8-7. 2. Date: 01/15/07, inratio: 4. 3, lab: 2. 8, mean: 3. 55, confidence limits: 2. 2-5. 3. Per internal procedure, the mean of the inratio meter and comparative system inr were calculated. Both inratio and lab values are within the confidence limits for inr testing. The results are not considered discrepant within the context of the documented variability for inr testing. Therefore, further testing is not required at this time. Per text "pt has antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, (cardiolipin-positive, lupus-negative). " pt's condition may be causing interference.

Representatives & Literature clearly states that this machine has problems with APS patient and patients with the Lupus Anticoagulant. Please see: http://www.apsfa.org/docs/HemoSense%20TechBull108.pdf Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them. However, if this document has been relocated again, please feel free to contact us for it.

Medical Decision Making, Vol. 26, No. 3, 239-246 (2006). Conclusion. The unvalidated criteria used to predict warfarin dosing agreement between 2 INR measurements are associated with large error. Warfarin dosing decisions should be measured directly in such assessments.

Caller alleged discrepant results compared with the lab. Results as follows: date: 01/12/07, inratio: 6. 1, lab: 3. 6. Ts updated this case on 01/18/2007 and 01/19/2007. 01/17/07, first test inr = 7. 5(old strip). Second test inr = 5. 5(new strip). Date: 01/19/07, inratio: 6. 5, lab: 4. 0. Caller has antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and recently had an episode of multi organ infection resulting in failure of adrenal glands.

by: Stephan Moll, MD. A superb way to monitor INRs (International Normalized Ratio) in patients on oral anticoagulants who do NOT have antiphospholipid antibodies (APLA) is though use of "point of care instruments", where the INR is tested on blood from a finger stick. This method gives fast results and is used by many physicians' offices and by some patients at home. However, in patients with APLA on oral anticoagulants these instruments may give inaccurate readings.

Literature clearly states that this machine has problems with APS patient and patients with the Lupus Anticoagulant. This is for the CoaguChek & CoaguChekS. Please call technical support at 800-428-4674 for more information. Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them.

Literature clearly states that this machine has problems with APS patient and patients with the Lupus Anticoagulant. This is for the new CoaguChekXS. Please call technical support at 800-428-4674 for more information. Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them.

List includes Antiphospholipid Antibodies. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them. However, if this document has been relocated again, please feel free to contact us for it.

Literature clearly states that this machine has problems with APS patient and patients with the Lupus Anticoagulant. Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them.

SL Perry, GP Samsa, and TL Ortel Thromb Haemost, December 1, 2005; 94(6): 1196-202. Antiphospholipid antibodies can influence the results of clotting tests in a subset of patients, which can be a major obstacle in monitoring warfarin.The aim was to determine if point-of-care testing of the International Normalized Ratio (INR) is influenced by antiphospholipid antibodies. Please note the manufacture of this machine helped fund this study.

Literature clearly states that this machine has problems with APS patient and patients with the Lupus Anticoagulant. Those using this machine should be getting vein draw comparisons at least every 6-8 weeks. The APSFA does not promote, sell or make money from this company nor the vendors that sell them.