As part of an investigation of a possible bleeding disorder or blood clot thrombotic episode to monitor unfractionated standard heparin anticoagulant therapy as part of screening before surgery or other invasive procedure Specimen:A blood sample drawn by needle from a vein in your arm When To Get Tested: When you have unexplained bleeding inappropriate blood cloting or recurrent miscarriages when you are on standard heparin anticoagulant therapy sometimes as part of a pre-surgical screen Test Preparation:None Normal Test Result: between 25 to 35

To determine the number of platelets in a sample of your blood as part of a health exam to screen for diagnose or monitor conditions that affect the number of platelets such as a bleeding disorder a bone marrow disease or other underlying condition Specimen:A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm or by a fingerstick children and adults or heelstick newborns When To Get Tested: As part of a routine complete blood count CBC when you have episodes of unexplained or prolonged bleeding or other symptoms that may be due to a platelet disorder Test Preparation:None Normal Test Result: normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 350,000.

A prothrombin time PT is a test used to help detect and diagnose a bleeding disorder or excessive clotting disorder the international normalized ratio INR is calculated from a PT result and is used to monitor how well the blood-thinning medication anticoagulant warfarin Coumadin is working to prevent blood clots Specimen:A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm sometimes blood from a fingerstick When To Get Tested: When you are taking warfarin or when you have unexplained or prolonged bleeding or inappropriate blood clotting Test Preparation:None needed although if you are receiving anticoagulant therapy the specimen should be collected before taking your daily dose Normal Test Result: normal range for your PT results is: 11 to 13.5 seconds. INR of 0.8 to 1.1.