ACTIVATED CLOTTING TIME (ACT): ITS DIAGNOSTIC VALUE IN MONITORING LOW DOSE HEPARIN THERAPY

Objective: To study diagnostic value of Activated Clotting Time (ACT) in monitoring of low dose Heparin therapy.Material and Methods: One hundred cases were included in this study. Among them 50 healthy normal subjects (group I) were taken as control, while 50 were taken among patients of myocardial Infarction (group II) receiving continuous heparin therapy. For both groups of patients the laboratory test ACT and APTT were performed.Results: Sensitivity of ACT in low dose heparin therapy was 64.28% and specificity was 62.5%. Sensitivity of APTT was 90% and specificity was 100%.Conclusion: ACT cannot be substituted for APTT though it can be used as a bedside test to monitor heparin therapy. It is a useful indicator where over heparinization or under heparinization is suspected and APTT results are awaited.