Clinical Use of the Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time and Prothrombin Time for Screening: a Review of the Literature and Current Guidelines for Testing

Although the activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, and international normalized ratio are widely used in routine preoperative testing, these hemostatic tests are not reliable predictors of perioperative bleeding in patients without known bleeding risk factors. In contrast, a preoperative bleeding history and physical examination are usually obtained in an attempt to identify important bleeding risk factors. However, these coagulation tests are used extensively for monitoring anticoagulation with different pharmacologic agents.