Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1
(PAI 1)

Sample type

Frozen plasma(sodium citrate)

Uses

This test may be used in rare cases with a tendency to thrombosis when no other cause is identified.

Precaution

-Blood should be drawn fasting between( 8 Am and 12 Pm), because the inhibitor has the highst level during morning hours.

-PAI-1 is unstable and must be processed and frozen within 3 hours of specimen collection.

-Blood should be collected in a blue-top tube containing 3.2% buffered sodium citrate.

-Double-centrifuged specimen is critical for accurate results as platelet contamination.

Interfering factors

Morning blood draw-

-plasma that not frozen will give erroneously high results due to the release of latent PAI-1 from platelet granules.

-PAI-1 is an acute phase reactant and can become transiently elevated by infection, inflammation and trauma.

-PAI-1 levels increase during pregnancy.

Pre-analytical errors

1- If the non-citrate plasma tube is received, unfrozen samples, clotted samples, overfilled tubes, underfilled tubes, unlabeled specimens, blood is drawn in the morning.

2-The patient’s history has not been taken carefully and therefore there is information that needs to know and is not available.

The corrective actions

1-The sample must be rejected and another sample will be requested.

2-You must communicate with the patient and know all the information you need. And next time the history of the patient should be taken carefully.

Post-analytical errors

1-Writing a wrong result or wrong name in the report

2-report were sent to incorrect patient

The corrective actions

1-If the report is not delivered to the patient and this error is discovered, the correct result or the correct name must be written, but if the report is delivered to the patient, you must communicate with the patient, apologise to him, and tell him that an error has occurred and replace it with the correct report.

2-Communicate with patient ,apologizing for the error, and providing him with the correct report

0.0–22.0 IU/mL OR 3-72 ng/ml

Based on fasting and early morning collections in adults