In simple words: This test looks for antibodies attached to your platelets. Platelets help stop bleeding, and these antibodies can sometimes cause problems with blood clotting.

The lab analyst performs the technical lab test to analyze for the presence of and identify platelet antibodies. The analyst prepares the patient’s blood, making it a platelet rich plasma. She then incubates the platelets with a reagent that contains fluorescence. If antibodies are present on the platelets, the sample will emit a certain light during flow cytometry. The immunofluorescence by flow cytometry is a highly sensitive method for detection of circulating platelet antibodies, but labs also use other methods such as solid phase red cell adherence and antigen capturing enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Protein liquid bead arrays are a more recently developed effective technique. In this method, the lab uses a pool of single antigen coated microbeads containing a variety of antibodies to asses panel reactive antibodies (PRAs) in flow cytometry based assays.

Example 1: A patient presents with unexplained bruising and bleeding. A complete blood count (CBC) reveals a low platelet count. To determine the cause of the low platelets, the physician orders a platelet antibody test (86022)., A pregnant woman with a history of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) is being monitored for potential complications.Her physician orders serial platelet antibody tests (86022) to assess her platelet antibody levels and guide treatment decisions., A patient is scheduled for a transfusion and exhibits unusual reactions to previous transfusions. The physician orders a platelet antibody test (86022) to rule out the presence of platelet antibodies that might cause an adverse reaction to the upcoming transfusion.

Medical record documentation should include the reason for testing, relevant clinical findings such as bruising, bleeding, low platelet counts, and any history of autoimmune diseases or transfusions.