Investigation in bruising

Appropriate baseline laboratory investigations include:

• full blood count (FBC) with differential
• peripheral blood smear for platelet abnormalities
• coagulation screen
  • prothrombin time (PT) - to assess the extrinsic and common clotting pathways
  • activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) - to assess the intrinsic pathway
  • Clauss fibrinogen - for fibrinogen function
  • thrombin time - for fibrinogen functional defects (1)
• hepatic and renal functions (2)

Reference:

• 1. Anderson JA, Thomas AE. Investigating easy bruising in a child. BMJ. 2010;341:c4565.
• 2. Khair K, Liesner R. Bruising and bleeding in infants and children-a practical approach. Br J Haematol. 2006;133(3):221-31.