Laboratory investigations
At the date of procedure, before LAAO, baseline blood samples were
collected. Control blood samples were collected at the discharge and 1
month follow-up.
Blood samples were collected into vacutainer tubes (tubes anticoagulated
with K3-EDTA for complete blood count, tubes containing 0.109M sodium
citrate and CTAD (buffered citrate, theophylline, adenosine, and
dipyridamole) for hemostasis and fibrinolysis tests. In all cases before
the procedure anti-Xa activity (IU/mL) was measured from peripheral
blood.
International Normalized Ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin
time (APTT), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), glycated
hemoglobin (HBA1C), morphology including platelets count, comprehensive
lipid profile including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and
triglyceride levels were measured from antecubital vein blood samples of
all patients upon hospital admission by routine methods. Tissue
plasminogen activator (tPA) antigen, plasminogen activator inhibitor
type 1 (PAI-1) antigen, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor
(TAFI) antigen, and plasminogen activity levels were determined by ELISA
(Hyphen BioMed, Neuville-Sur-Oise, France).