Fibrinolytic therapy

The state of the art of fibrinolytic therapy is constantly changing; perhaps no other area of medicine is developing as rapidly. This paper presents the status of fibrinolytic therapy from the authors' viewpoint. Many statements are controversial. It is possible to find divergent opinions expressed by experts on almost any aspect of fibrinolysis. Objective data are rapidly accumulating, but because new substances continue to be developed, the present and future statuses of fibrinolysis remain unclear. The current results of fibrinolytic therapy are excellent but will be dwarfed by the effects of new compounds and techniques in the near future. Continued developments in this field will have a major impact on improved health care delivery.