Anticoagulant failure in coagulopathic patients: PTT confounding and other pitfalls

INTRODUCTION: Devastating thromboses can complicate heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). In these disorders, acquired abnormalities of the partial thromboplastin time (PTT) and international normalized ratio (INR) can confound monitoring of PTT- and INR-adjusted anticoagulant therapies, contributing to treatment failure. AREAS COVERED: Illustrative patient cases of anticoagulant failure due to …