Low prothrombin Time

[GrandmaA]

Does anyone know what low prothrombin time means on labs?

[GoofyDad]

I sure hope Grandma's blood clotted by now. It's been 3 years.

[Dottie500]

My INR is 3,4 and my pro. time is 33.4  - I was in hospital with double pneumonia and pulmonary embolisms about four months ago - and on coumadin and baby aspirin therapy
I see where my TSH came back at 0.083  - my glucose was 121 - usually 102 - or around there - I wonder if heparin and drip heavy duty anti-biotics can mess things up and 103.8 fever - my glucose actually shot up to 177 one day, then came back the same day. while in hospital.  

[mikesimon]

That's comforting news. Stay well, Mike

[GrandmaA]

I was wrong, it's not the alkaline phosphatase. She said you only have that marker when you have selerosis (spelling?).

[mikesimon]

I have not seen PT expressed like yours. Before my transplant mine was always described as "prolonged prothrombin time" and that leaves little room for confusion. But since we're talking about the time it takes the blood to clot the term "low" is confusing - "long" or "short" would be pretty easily understood but since a "low prothrombin" or a "prothrombin deficiency" yields a "prolonged prothrombin time" I am at a loss to understand what they're saying. I guess because we're here at a liver disease site we might assume that they mean the blood isn't clotting as quickly as it should to be within normal range but I hate to conclude anything negative. I wish you the best. Mike

[GrandmaA]

Thanks for the information. I didn't have a clue about it. It does take longer for a nose bleed to clot now. I try not to get them. I do have a call into the nurse and I will ask her your other question.

[GrandmaA]

The nurse said when the prothrombin time is low the clotting tme is shorter than normal.

[mikesimon]

I may have that wrong now that I think about it. A short PT is good but a low Prothrombin is not good. I know I'm not making any sense but the thing to find out is if the clotting time is longer or shorter than normal. I was thinking that a low prothrombin time meant that it takes a shorter amount of time to clot.
I just found this at:http://www.nattinfo.org/learn-glossary.htm
Prothrombin deficiency Prothrombin (= factor II) is 1 of the approximately 15 clotting proteins that is needed to stop us from bleeding. If you are low in prothrombin, you have a tendency to bleed.

Have I confused you enough? I bet I have. Sorry about that. Mike

[mikesimon]

A low Prothrombin time is a good thing. Prothrombin time is the time it takes the blood to clot. A long or high PT is where you can get into trouble due to bleeding - the blood doesn't clot fast enough and that is what we sometimes see in severe liver disease. If the PT is low I think that's good. Mike

[Pam]

Definition:  This is a test that measures the clotting time of plasma (the liquid portion of the blood).  Also known as "PT"

Normal Values: The normal range is 11 to 13.5 seconds ("normal" varies somewhat in different labs).  For a person on full anticoagulant therapy, the PT should be 2 to 3 times the laboratory "control" value.

What abnormal results mean    

Increased PT times may indicate:

bile duct obstruction
cirrhosis
disseminated intravascular coagulation
hepatitis
malabsorption (inadequate absorption of nutrients from the intestinal tract)
Vitamin K deficiency
Coumadin (warfarin) therapy
Factor VII deficiency
Factor X deficiency
Factor II (prothrombin) deficiency
Factor V deficiency
Factor I (fibrinogen) deficiency

Hope this helps!
Pam