Diagnosis of fibrinogen deficiency, both congenital and acquired, as well as screen for dysfibrinogenemia. Normal values for reptilase time when thrombin time is prolonged suggests the presence of heparin or a direct thrombin inhibitor.

Lt blue Sodium citrate (NaCit)

• Blood should be collected in a blue-top tube containing 3.2% buffered sodium citrate 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 anti-coagulant with the blood.
• A discard tube is not required prior to collection of coagulation samples except when using a winged blood collection device (i.e. '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.

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

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

Frozen (strict) - 28 days

Freeze/thaw cycles - stable x3

• Severe hemolysis 
• Clotted specimen
• Specimen diluted with I.V. fluids
• Samples thawed in transit

The reptilase time measures the rate of fibrin clot formation after the addition of reptilase, a proteolytic enzyme derived from the venom of Bothrops atrox, to citrated plasma.

0.0 - 21.9 sec