Sanne de Bruin

11 General Introduction and scope of the thesis verts fibrinogen into fibrin monomers. Factor XIII crosslinks the fibrin monomers which stabilizes the blood clot. Figure 1. Clot formation after vessel injury An impaired ability to form clots is called coagulopathy and includes platelets and co- agulation factors deficiencies. Important parameters in the evaluation of coagulopathy are the prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), fibrinogen levels and platelet count. The most common cause for coagulopathy is iatrogenic coagulopathy. In order to prevent thrombo-embolic events or cardiovascular events large numbers of patients receive anticoagulants such as direct oral anticoagulants (e.g. dabigatran), vitamin K antagonists (e.g. acenocoumarol) or anti-platelet therapy (e.g. dipyridamole). Other causes for coagulopathy include bone marrow depression and liver failure, charac- terized by reduced platelet count and reduced coagulation factor levels, respectively. Numerous treatment options are available, including transfusion of platelets, plasma or specific coagulation factors. 1