Point of care monitoring of oral anticoagulant therapy in children: Comparison of CoaguChek Plus and Thrombotest methods with venous international normalised ratio

Abstract

This paper reports the outcome of a research protocol aimed at optimising warfarin monitoring in a tertiary pediatric centre. The Thrombotest™ INR was the standard monitoring test employed to manage oral anticoagulant therapy in children at the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), Melbourne. This study compares the results of this standard method to the novel CoaguChek® INR monitor and the " gold standard" technique of venous INR sampling.The objectives were to determine 1) if point-of-care techniques of measuring the INR (Thrombotest and CoaguChek) are accurate and reliable compared to INR results obtained from venous sampling, processed in an accredited laboratory, and 2) if INR results genera..