Saleh Shamse Basha: When ‘Low Protein S’ Isn’t Necessarily Low
Saleh Shamse Basha, Senior Hematology Technologist (Reference Lab, HQ) at PureLab, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“When ‘Low Protein S’ Isn’t Necessarily Low.
A quick coagulation puzzle
A patient’s Protein S activity low and also ProC Global (APCR) test comes back low too.
Two abnormal results pointing the same direction it must be a real thrombophilia, right?
Not accrually.
- Pre-Analytical Trap (Platelet-Poor-plasma).
Both of these are clotting tests because Protein S is the cofactor APC needs to work so when one drops the other often follow.
If the frozen plasma has a leftover platelets that means the sample wasn’t spun down properly before freezing, those platelets rupture on thaw and release phospholipid (plus stored Factor V) into the plasma.
That extra material speeds up clotting artificially and both tests read ‘faster clotting’ as ‘weaker anticoagulant activity.’
The result: a falsely low Protein S and a falsely abnormal APCR that reflect nothing about the patient’s actual biology.”
More posts featuring Saleh Shamse Basha on Hemostasis Today.
-
Sep 12, 2026, 04:11Jyotishbhai Patel: Why India Needs Universal Newborn Screening for Sickle Cell and Thalassemia
-
Sep 12, 2026, 04:04Oliver Schlager: New ESC and ESVM Clinical Consensus on Lipid-Lowering Therapy in VTE
-
Sep 12, 2026, 03:54Toby Richards: Representing IronLife at Parliament on Anaemia and Iron Deficiency
-
Sep 11, 2026, 17:41Khaled Musallam: Earlier Recognition, Better Outcomes in NTDT
-
Sep 11, 2026, 17:29Reyhan Kose Cobanoglu: APS ACTION Registry Study Published in Lupus
-
Sep 11, 2026, 17:14Obi Light Ogbonnia: From Kenya to Global Sickle Cell Advocacy
-
Sep 11, 2026, 17:01EAHAD 2027 Marks 20 Years
-
Sep 11, 2026, 16:54Denise Braendgaard: Reimagining Health Systems Through Collective Action
-
Sep 11, 2026, 16:47Jehad Khamaysa: Budd-Chiari Syndrome as the Initial Presentation of Behçet’s Disease in a 16-Year-Old