title: The ecarin clotting time, a universal method to quantify direct thrombin inhibitors.
abstract: The ecarin clotting time (ECT) is a meizothrombin generation test that allows for precise quantification of direct thrombin inhibitors. The ECT has demonstrated its usefulness for more than 10 years in biochemical-pharmacological investigations as well as in clinical research and in the clinical routine. It has proved valuable especially as a drug-monitoring method in r-hirudin therapy. This test has been adjusted to clinical requirements by numerous modifications. Following the description of the biochemical background and the measuring principle of the ECT, this article gives a short survey of several modifications of the ECT for both preclinical and clinical use, e.g., for biochemical investigations, as a point-of-care method and for cardiac surgery. Advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Research Group Pharmacological Haemostaseology, Medical Faculty, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany. goetz.nowak@med.uni-jena.de
authors.forename: Götz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nowak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000991:Antithrombins / Q000032:analysis*; D001780:Blood Coagulation Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D010450:Endopeptidases; D006629:Hirudins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D011516:Prothrombin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000991:Antithrombins; D006629:Hirudins; D011516:Prothrombin; D010450:Endopeptidases; C020097:ecarin