• Diagnosis of homozygous and heterozygous fibrinogen deficiency as well as dysfibrinogenemia
• Diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation
• Fibrinogen levels can be used to assess the effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy

Lt blue Sodium citrate (NaCit)

Citrated plasma samples should be collected by double centrifugation. Blood should be collected in a blue-top tube containing 3.2% buffered sodium citrate. Evacuated collection tubes must be filled to completion to ensure a proper blood to anticoagulant ratio. The sample should be mixed immediately by gentle inversion at least six times to ensure adequate mixing of the anticoagulant with the blood. A discard tube is not required prior to collection of coagulation samples, except when using a winged blood collection device (ie, "butterfly"), in which case a discard tube should be used. When noncitrate tubes are collected for other tests, collect sterile and nonadditive (red-top) tubes prior to citrate (blue-top) tubes. Any tube containing an alternate anticoagulant should be collected after the blue-top tube. Gel-barrier tubes and serum tubes with clot initiators should also be collected after the citrate tubes.

If the patient's hematocrit exceeds 55%, the volume of citrate in the collection tube must be adjusted.

1. Centrifuge within 30 minutes of collection.
2. Centrifuge for 10 minutes and carefully remove ²/₃ of the plasma using a plastic transfer pipette, being careful not to disturb the cells.
3. Deliver to a plastic transport tube, cap, and recentrifuge for 10 minutes.
4. Use a second plastic pipette to remove the plasma, staying clear of the platelets at the bottom of the tube.
5. Transfer the plasma into a Screw-cap polypropylene frozen transport vial/tube - 4mL (LabCorp).
6. Freeze immediately and maintain frozen

Screw-cap polypropylene frozen transport vial/tube - 4mL (LabCorp)

Lavender (EDTA), 4mL

Immediatley following collection, mix sample thoroughly by gently inverting 8 - 10, times to prevent clotting

1. Spin within two (2) hours of sample collection
2. Transfer plasma to a Screw-cap polypropylene frozen transport vial/tube - 4mL (LabCorp), labelled as EDTA plasma
3. Freeze within 24 hours of sample collection

Frozen (preferred) - 1 year

Refrigerated - 8 days

• Microbially contaminated samples
• Hemolysis
• Gross lipemia that cannot be cleared by ultracentrifugation
• Serum

Immunonephelometry

<80 mg/dL or >999 mg/dL