Sensitivity of the reaction time of the resonance thrombogram for factor VIII:C and factor IX deficiencies in the blood of dogs with haemophilia A or B.

The sensitivity of the reaction time of the resonance thrombogram (RTG-r) was examined for two instruments based on 105 canine samples with a reduced factor VIII:C activity and 26 samples with a reduced factor IX activity. These samples were taken from dogs suffering from haemophilia A (n=18) or B (n=3) before and at different times after the substitution therapy with fresh frozen plasma. The RTG-r sensitivity was low; with reference to the total of all examined samples, it was between 0.39 and 0.65 for the factor VIII:C activity and between 0.46 and 0.62 for the factor IX activity, depending on the instrument and the testing procedure used. Low sensitivity was shown especially by the fact that even some of the samples with a factor VIII:C activity < 5% showed false negative results. Moreover, the correlation found between RTG-r and factor VIII:C activity (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, r(S)=-0.556 to -0.700) as well as between factor IX activity and RTG-r (r(S)=-0.380 to -0.612) was only moderate. The low sensitivity of the RTG towards a reduced activity of the haemophilia factors VIII:C and IX contradicts the exclusive use of the RTG for monitoring haemophilic dogs as well as a global screening test for the haemostasis of dogs.