Thrombin time

Optimal result: 11.3 – 18.5 seconds

A longer thrombin time can mean low fibrinogen, high fibrinogen, or fibrinogen that's not working properly. It can also be because of medicines that affect blood clotting, such as heparin, argatroban, hirudin, or hirulog. 

A longer thrombin time can be caused by proteins in the blood from the health conditions multiple myeloma or amyloidosis. Or it could be caused by antibodies that developed from earlier exposure to bovine thrombin. 

Thrombin is an enzyme in the blood that acts on the clotting factor fibrinogen to form fibrin, helping blood to clot. The thrombin time assesses the activity of fibrinogen.

The thrombin time (TT) is a blood test that measures the time it takes for a clot to form in the plasma of a blood sample containing anticoagulant, after an excess of thrombin has been added. It is used to diagnose blood coagulation disorders and to assess the effectiveness of fibrinolytic therapy. 

Blood clotting is an important step in healing from an injury, such as a cut. Forming a blood clot is a complicated process. It involves many blood components that must interact in a specific order.

Thrombin time is a measure of how long the blood's plasma, or the liquid portion of the blood, takes to form a clot. This test gives information about how well one particular blood component called fibrinogen is working. 

A normal thrombin time is 11.3 to 18.5 seconds.

Thrombin time
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