Fibrinogen levels measured by the dry hematology method are lower than those measured by the Clauss method under a high concentration of heparin

The activity of fibrinogen has been reported to decrease soon after the onset of major bleeding and to be an important determinant of the final extent of bleeding and postoperative outcome. A device that measures the perioperative fibrinogen level using the dry hematology (DH) method has recently become available. The aim of this study was to compare perioperative fibrinogen levels measured by the DH method with those measured by the conventional Clauss method and to assess the effects of heparin on these measurements. The study included 206 samples from 36 patients undergoing major surgery who received high-dose heparin (HH group, 23 samples), low-dose heparin (LH group, 57 samples), or no heparin (C group, 126 control samples). Each sample was measured using the DH and Clauss methods. After excluding samples outside the effective measurement range, the three study groups (HH group, n=23; LH group, n=49; C group, n=115) were compared. The mean fibrinogen level measured by the DH method in the HH group (87.9 ± 3.1%) was significantly lower than that measured by the Clauss method. There were no significant differences between the fibrinogen measurements obtained by the two methods between the LH and C groups. In patients on high-dose heparin, the mean fibrinogen level measured by the DH method was significantly lower than that measured by the Clauss method. When hemorrhage requires emergency treatment, a method that can measure the fibrinogen level rapidly is important. The DH method may be useful for decision-making with regard to perioperative coagulation factor replacement.