INR reporting in Canadian medical laboratories

A written survey of all licensed medical laboratories in Canada performing coagulation testing was performed to investigate the level of knowledge and overall usage of the INR system for reporting prothrombin time results in medical laboratories. There was an overall response rate of 857 of 1,228 laboratories surveyed. Fifty-seven percent of responding laboratories utilized some format of INR reporting. The ISI of the individual thromboplastin utilized was known by 89% of laboratories. The ISI of the thromboplastin utilized was known to be specific for the particular reagent/instrument combination in 44% of cases. Fifty-five percent of client physicians preferred PT results to be reported in seconds while 42% desired an INR format. The situation in Canada is similar to the United States in that further education regarding the INR system for PT reporting is required by both medical laboratories and physicians.