[Clotting and fibrinolytic activities in acute alcoholic golden hamsters with or without ether anaesthesia]

Fluid cadaveric blood is generally known as a characteristic of sudden death. However, it has been reported that soft blood clots have been observed in a number of cases of sudden death after alcohol drinking. Such a tendency was also recognized on autopsy cases in our laboratory. This study was carried out to reveal the effects on clotting and fibrinolytic system in golden hamsters under acute alcohol intoxication. Furthermore, the influences of ether anaesthesia were also observed. Activities of clotting and fibrinolytic factors were measured with fluorogenic peptide substrate. Prothrombin and factor X activities began to decrease 1 hr after administration of alcohol. But thrombin-like and factor Xa-like activities significantly increased after 1 hr and then returned to the initial value 4 hr after administration. Plasminogen activity began to decrease 1 hr after administration, whereas plasmin-like and t-PA-like activities increased after 1 hr and returned to the initial values or decreased after 4 hr. These results show that under acute alcohol intoxication clotting and fibrinolytic factors (prothrombin, factor X and plasminogen) in golden hamsters were converted temporarily to their active forms (thrombin, factor Xa and plasmin). No influence of only ether anaesthesia on clotting and fibrinolytic activities was observed. At 1 hr after administration of alcohol some effects of ether anaesthesia on prothrombin, prekallikrein and kallikrein were observed and then were not observed after 4 hr. But it seems that the influence of ether anaesthesia on clotting and fibrinolytic activities was negligible in the process after alcohol consumption.