Impaired fibrinolysis in patients with thrombotic or haemostatic defects

I G Sloan1, B G Firkin

  • 1Department of Medicine, Monash Medical School, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Australia.

Thrombosis Research
|September 1, 1989
PubMed

In a retrospective study of the 47 patients examined for thrombotic defects, 34 had prolonged euglobulin lysis times (ELT) with 27 of these also having elevated tissue-plasminogen activator inhibitor (t-PAI) activity. Twenty three of the 57 patients examined for possible bleeding problems had prolonged ELT with 15 of this group also having raised levels of t-PAI. There was a statistically greater (P less than 0.005) incidence of elevated t-PAI in the thrombotic group. The incidence of 40% patients with prolonged ELT in the haemostasis group was surprising and perhaps represents some compensatory mechanism to combat bleeding. Thus in vitro tests showed that a reduced capacity for fibrinolysis was present in diametrically opposed groups.

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