The Quick value (synonyms: thromboplastin time, TPZ; prothrombin time, PTZ) is a laboratory parameter that describes blood clotting. As a so-called global test of plasmatic blood coagulation, the Quick test records several reaction steps of blood coagulation, including the binding ability of the coagulation factors to phospholipid surfaces. It detects the activity of factors II, V, VII, and X, as well as fibrinogen concentration.
The procedure
Material needed
- Citrate blood
Preparation of the patient
- Not known
Disruptive factors
- None known
Quick value
| Value | Meaning |
| 70-120 % | Normal blood clotting |
| 15-27 % | Therapeutic range in treatment with anticoagulants (anticoagulant drugs). |
Indications
- Clarification of the synthesis performance of the liver
- Vitamin K deficiency
- Congenital or acquired factor deficiencies.
- Monitoring of vitamin K antagonist (VAK; e.g., phenprocoumon (Marcoumar)) therapy.
- Preoperative screening for coagulopathy (disorder of blood clotting).
Interpretation
The therapeutic range is targeted for the following conditions:
- In cardiac arrhythmias
- For mechanical heart valve replacement
- Leg vein thrombosis – formation of a blood clot with occlusion of a vessel of the leg veins.
- Pulmonary embolism – detachment of a blood clot from the leg with occlusion of pulmonary vessels.
Causes of a decreased Quick value:
- Anticoagulant therapy (therapy to inhibit blood clotting).
- Dysfibrinogenemia (reduction of clot-active fibrinogen).
- Hepatopathies/liver diseases (see liver parameters).
- Lupus anticoagulant (antiphospholipid antibody).
- Neonates (immature hemostasis system).
- Prothrombin complex deficiency
- Consumptive coagulopathy (consumption of clotting factors and platelets/platelets, which can lead to a bleeding tendency).
- Vitamin K deficiency
An elevated Quick value has no pathological significance. These values can occur due to the use of various drugs such as antibiotics – drugs against bacterial infections.
Nowadays, the INR value occupies an increasingly higher position in blood clotting diagnostics, as it describes the clotting situation like the Quick value. In contrast, however, it is standardized and can thus be compared internationally.
Differential diagnosis of Quick value and PTT (partial thromboplastin time)
| Constellation | Interpretation |
| Quick value decreased, PTT in normal range | Suspected diagnoses:
|
| Quick value decreased, PTT prolonged, bleeding symptoms. | Overdose of unfractionated heparin must be ruled out first! Suspected diagnoses:
* Liver synthesis disorders are more likely to be indicated by the Quick test than by the PTT. |
| Quick value in normal range, PTT prolonged, bleeding symptoms. | Suspected diagnoses:
|
