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Hematology & Coagulation Flashcards

7 cards from real AACC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

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  1. Which combination of laboratory findings is most characteristic of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)?

    Answer: Decreased platelets, prolonged PT/aPTT, elevated D-dimer, decreased fibrinogen

    DIC is characterized by simultaneous thrombosis and fibrinolysis, consuming platelets and clotting factors, producing thrombocytopenia, prolonged PT/aPTT, low fibrinogen, and elevated D-dimer from fibrin degradation.

  2. D-dimer is a specific fibrin degradation product measured in clinical laboratories. What is its primary clinical utility?

    Answer: Ruling out venous thromboembolism (VTE) in low-probability patients

    D-dimer has high sensitivity but low specificity for VTE; a negative result in a low-pretest-probability patient effectively rules out DVT or PE, avoiding the need for imaging.

  3. A ristocetin cofactor assay (VWF:RCo) is reduced and VWF antigen is also reduced. What is the most likely diagnosis?

    Answer: Type 1 von Willebrand disease

    Type 1 VWD, the most common form, shows a proportionate decrease in both VWF quantity (antigen) and function (ristocetin cofactor activity), typically to 20–50% of normal.

  4. A patient receiving streptokinase therapy for acute myocardial infarction will likely show which laboratory pattern?

    Answer: Prolonged PT/aPTT, decreased fibrinogen, and elevated FDPs

    Thrombolytic agents like streptokinase activate plasmin, which degrades fibrin and fibrinogen, resulting in prolonged PT/aPTT, decreased fibrinogen, and elevated fibrin degradation products.

  5. What is the normal platelet count reference range in adults?

    Answer: 150,000–400,000/μL

    The normal adult platelet count is 150,000–400,000/μL; counts below 150,000/μL define thrombocytopenia, while counts above 400,000/μL define thrombocytosis.

  6. Which laboratory result would confirm the diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) type II?

    Answer: Detection of IgG antibodies against the heparin–PF4 complex with clinical thrombocytopenia appearing 5–10 days after heparin initiation

    HIT type II is an immune-mediated disorder in which IgG antibodies against heparin-platelet factor 4 (PF4) complexes cause platelet activation and thrombocytopenia, typically 5–10 days after heparin initiation.

  7. In the evaluation of a microcytic anemia, which set of iron studies distinguishes anemia of chronic disease (ACD) from iron deficiency anemia (IDA)?

    Answer: ACD: high ferritin, low TIBC, low serum iron; IDA: low ferritin, high TIBC, low serum iron

    ACD shows elevated ferritin (acute-phase reactant), low TIBC (suppressed iron transport), and low serum iron; IDA shows low ferritin (depleted stores), high TIBC, and low serum iron.