The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound worldwide impact on the Thrombosis and Hemostasis community. Nevertheless, the pace of COVID-19 coagulation-related research has continued to accelerate and has established the role of laboratory coagulation data for many purposes, including disease prognosis and outcome.

Although the pathogenesis of the COVID-19-induced coagulopathy has not yet been fully elucidated, the thromboinflammatory pathway associated with COVID-19 infection may contribute to potential clinical thromboembolic complications. Significant inflammation in COVID-19 patients causes profound activation of coagulation factors and platelets, a systemic inflammatory response, elevated cytokines and severe endothelial cell activation and damage. This coagulopathy contributes to a localised or systemic procoagulant or hypercoagulable status. The imbalance of procoagulant and anticoagulant factors can contribute to hypercoagulability in critically ill patients and increases the risk of venous or arterial thromboembolic complications.

Thrombotic manifestations of COVID-19 include VTE, ATE and microvascular thrombosis. The best available evidence suggests that critically ill and acutely ill COVID-19 patients may have several fold greater risk of VTE than critically ill and acutely ill patients without COVID-19. Baseline risk for COVID -19 associated VTE increases with illness severity. Clinical trials to determine the optimum dose of anticoagulation in COVID-19 patients are in progress.

In pro-COAG 2021, a scientific webinar hosted by Roche Diagnostics on 27 Jan 2021, laboratory scientists and clinicians from across the world came together and discuss these trends. Join us in this webinar and learn from experts addressing diagnostic challenges during COVID-19 and beyond, including the following topics:

Watch the full recording below (you click the buttons on the play bar to jump to any specific segment that interests you). Feel free to also refer to following resources to find out more:

1. Coagulation Synapse Newsletter: COVID-19 and Coagulopathy: FAQ
2. Coagulation Synapse Newsletter: COVID-19 and Coagulopathy in hospitalized patients