CTAD as a universal anticoagulant.

The feasibility of CTAD (a mixture of citrate, theophylline, adenosine and dipyridamole) as a new anticoagulant for medical laboratory use was studied prospectively. Whole blood anticoagulated with CTAD exhibited results very similar to those of blood anticoagulated with EDTA on complete blood count and automated white cell differential except for a slight decrease in platelet count and mean platelet volume. Chemistry test data for plasma obtained from CTAD whole blood were close to those obtained for matched sera. Among coagulation tests, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and fibrinogen concentrations were close to those obtained with citrate plasma. Based on the results, CTAD was judged to be a good candidate as a new anticoagulant.