RCIS Practice Test 2025 – All-in-One Exam Prep

Monitoring heparin therapy is crucial for ensuring that patients receive the appropriate level of anticoagulation while minimizing the risk of bleeding. Activated clotting time (ACT) is a common method used during procedures, but if it is not available, monitoring can still be performed using other coagulation tests.

The prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT) are both tests that measure the time it takes for blood to clot. PTT is particularly relevant in monitoring heparin therapy, especially unfractionated heparin, as this drug predominantly affects the intrinsic pathway of hemostasis, which is what the PTT evaluates.

While PT primarily assesses the extrinsic pathway and monitoring warfarin therapy, the PTT directly correlates with the anticoagulant effects of heparin. Therefore, if ACT is not an option, using PTT is an effective alternative to assess the level of anticoagulation in a patient receiving heparin, making this method especially relevant in clinical practice.

Other options listed, such as INR and ETCO2, are not suitable for monitoring heparin therapy. INR is specifically a standardized measure used for monitoring patients on anticoagulants like warfarin. ET