A practical approach in laboratory diagnosis of Factor XIII deficiency

Background and ObjectivesFactor XIII (FXIII) deficiency is an extremely Rare Bleeding Disorder (RBD) with estimated incidence of 1 per 2 million in the general population. All routine coagulation tests including Bleeding Time (BT), Prothrombin Time (PT), Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) and platelet count are normal in FXIII deficiency (FXIIID) and this makes the diagnosis of disorder difficult. In this study, we presented a practical approach for laboratory diagnosis of FXIIID.
Materials and MethodsFor this review article, all relevant articles were searched using appropriate keywords.
ResultsClot solubility test is the most common diagnostic test of FXIIID that has low specificity and sensitivity and also can be affected by several factors including clotting and solubilizing agents. Although this test is not further recommended by experts for diagnosis of FXIID but due to expanded use of this method, it cannot be abolished and we can use it to screen the disease with some modifications. FXIII activity assay should be considered as a screening test of FXIIID. FXIII activity is performed by several methods among them photometric assay is the most common. Without a serum blank, photometric assay overestimates FXIII activity that in patients with severe FXIIID can be accompanied by life threatening bleeding.
ConclusionsFXIIID is a rare disease with lethal outcomes. A best clinical examination, family history as well as a suitable laboratory approach led to timely diagnosis of FXIIID and prevented misdiagnosis of the disease and the arising consequences. Thus, this study is to give a proper laboratory approach for diagnosis of FXIIID.