The laboratory evaluation of platelet dysfunction

The laboratory evaluation of platelet function plays a central role in the diagnosis of hemostatic disorders, and in the assessment of patients with arterial thrombosis. During the last decade enormous progress has been made in understanding platelet function at the biochemical and molecular level. Although traditional platelet function studies, as first described by Gustav Born in the 1960s, continue to serve as the mainstay of platelet function testing, the direct evaluation of platelet membrane glycoproteins by fluorescence activated cell sorting, and the examination of platelet function under high shear conditions provide additional diagnostic information. Furthermore, the ability to define genetic defects by molecular methods in families with inherited thrombocytopathies has had a major impact on carrier detection, prenatal diagnosis, and genetic counseling.