Partial thromboplastin time in the presence of heparin: a rapid polybrene neutralization method.

The detection of heparin in plasma and its neutralization to permit assessment of the prolonged partial thromboplastin time is a constant need in the clinical laboratory. A rapid, simple method which utilizes Polybrene after the initial contact activation step is described and compared to the standard neutralization procedures. The present method has the advantage of not requiring Polybrene titration and of requiring only small volumes of plasma making it particularly valuable in pediatric patients.