Factor XII Activity
| Factor XII Activity | | | |
| Number | | 086322 |
| CPT | | 85280 |
| Related Information | | Hemostasis and Thrombosis Appendix |
| Synonyms | | Hageman Factor ; Surface Factor |
| Special Instructions | | If the patient's hematocrit exceeds 55%, the volume of citrate in the collection tube must be adjusted. Refer to Coagulation Collection Procedures for directions. |
| Specimen | | Plasma, frozen |
| Volume | | 2 mL |
| Minimum Volume | | 1 mL |
| Container | | Blue-top (sodium citrate) tube |
Collection | | Blood should be collected in a blue-top tube containing
3.2% buffered sodium citrate.1 Evacuated
collection tubes must be filled to completion to ensure a
proper blood to anticoagulant ratio.2,3 The
sample should be mixed immediately by gentle inversion at
least six times to ensure adequate mixing of the
anticoagulant with the blood. A discard tube is not
required prior to collection of coagulation
samples.4,5 When noncitrate tubes are collected
for other tests, collect sterile and nonadditive (red top)
tubes prior to citrate (blue top) tubes. Any tube
containing an alternate anticoagulant should be collected
after the blue-top tube. Gel-barrier tubes and serum tubes
with clot initiators should also be collected after the
citrate tubes. Centrifuge and carefully remove the plasma
using a plastic transfer pipette, being careful not to
disturb the cells. Transfer the plasma into a LabCorp PP
transpak frozen purple tube with screw cap (LabCorp
No 49482). Freeze immediately and maintain
frozen until tested. To avoid delays in turnaround time
when requesting multiple tests on frozen samples, please
submit separate frozen specimens for each test requested.
Please print and use the Specimen
Collection Bulletin as a tube-filling guide. |
| Storage Instructions | | Freeze |
| Patient Preparation | | Avoid warfarin (Coumadin®) therapy for 2 weeks and heparin therapy for 2 days prior to the test. Do not draw from an arm with a heparin lock or heparinized catheter. |
| Causes for Rejection | | Gross hemolysis; clotted specimen; frozen specimen thawed in transit; improper labeling |
| Reference Interval | | Adults: 50% to 150%. In newborns, levels are lower but levels gradually reach adult ranges by 6 months of age.6 |
| Use | | Detect specific coagulation factor XII activity7,8 |
| Methodology | | Factor XII activity is determined utilizing an aPTT-based one-stage clotting time assay. Factor XII-depleted plasma is used as the substrate, and the clotting time with the patient plasma is compared to the clotting time of normal pooled plasma. |
| Additional Information | | Factor XII along with prekallikrein and high molecular weight kininogen make up the contact activation system. These factors are necessary for clot formation in the activated partial thromboplastin (aPTT). In the test tube, factor XII is activated by contact with negatively-charged surfaces;9 however, deficiencies of these factors have no hemorrhagic consequence because physiologic clotting is activated by alternate paths that bypass the contact system.7,8 Factor XII is an 80 kilodalton single-chain proenzyme that is synthesized in the liver. Factor XII's plasma concentration is 30 mg/mL and half-life is about 50 hours. Factor XII deficiency is usually inherited in an autosomal recessive manner and heterozygous deficiency is relatively common, affecting somewhere between 1.5% and 3% of the population.7 In fact, mild factor XII deficiency is the most common cause of extended aPTT in the nonbleeding patient in the absence of lupus anticoagulant.7 Factor XII deficiency should be suspected whenever a patient has a normal protime (PT) and an extended aPTT and no history of bleeding. Factor XII levels are moderately diminished in heterozygous individuals with levels ranging between 20% and 60% of normal.8 Homozygous individuals typically have levels <1%.7 Severe factor XII deficiency is characterized by aPTT that can be longer than 100 seconds.8 Factor XII can be affected, either increased and decreased in a number of conditions including septicemia, coronary artery disease, pharmacological thrombolysis, inflammatory bowel disease, pregnancy, lactic acidosis, hemodialysis, and angioedema.7,9 Decreased factor XII levels can be seen in liver disease and renal disease.7 A number of investigators have reported that congenital factor XII deficiency may be associated with an increased incidence of venous thrombosis.9 However, a recent consensus conference of the College of American Pathologists on diagnostic issues in thrombophilia found no evidence to support hypercoagulability in patients homozygously deficient for factor XII or any of the other contact factors.9 |
| Footnotes | | - Adcock DM, Kressin DC, and Marlar RA, “Effect of 3.2% vs 3.8% Sodium Citrate Concentration on Routine Coagulation Testing,” Am J Clin Pathol, 1997, 107(1):105-10.
- Reneke J, Etzell J, Leslie S, et al, “Prolonged Prothrombin Time and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time Due to Underfilled Specimen Tubes With 109 mmol/L (3.2%) Citrate Anticoagulant,” Am J Clin Pathol, 1998, 109(6):754-7.
- “National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standardization: Collection, Transport, and Processing of Blood Specimens for Coagulation Testing and General Performance of Coagulation Assays; Approved Guideline,” Third Edition, Villanova: NCCLS Document H21-A3:11(23), 1999.
- Gottfried EL and Adachi MM, “Prothrombin Time and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time Can Be Performed on the First Tube,” Am J Clin Pathol, 1997, 107(6):681-3.
- McGlasson DL, More L, Best HA, et al, “Drawing Specimens for Coagulation Testing: Is a Second Tube Necessary?” Clin Lab Sci, 1999, 12(3):137-9.
- Van Cott EM and Laposata M, “Coagulation,” Laboratory Test Handbook With Key Word Index, Jacobs DS, DeMott WR, and Oxley DK eds, Hudson, OH: Lexi-Comp, 2001, 327-58.
- Adcock DM, Jensen R, Johns CS, et al, Coagulation Handbook, Esoterix Coagulation, 2002.
- Roberts HR and Escobar MA, “Less Common Congenital Disorders of Hemostasis,” Consultative Hemostasis and Thrombosis, Kitchens CS, Alving BM, and Kessler CM, eds, Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Co, 2002, 57-71.
- Kitchens CS, “The Contact System,” Arch Pathol Lab Med, 2002, 126(11):1382-6
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