Hyperfibrinolysis: a crucial phenotypic abnormality of posttraumatic fibrinolytic dysfunction

Traumatic fibrinolytic dysfunction is often categorized into 3 phenotypes based on the result of thromboelastography (TEG) lysis at 30 minutes (LY30): fibrinolysis shutdown, physiologic fibrinolysis, and hyperfibrinolysis. However, the molecular pathophysiology of fibrinolytic dysfunction and the association with clinical outcomes have not been fully evaluated.

To assess whether posttraumatic fibrinolysis phenotypes identified by TEG correlate with levels of key fibrinolysis-related serum markers and with risk of mortality and hospital complications.

This is a secondary analysis of the Pragmatic, Randomized Optimal Platelet and Plasma Ratios trial. Patients were stratified according to the degree of fibrinolysis upon arrival using TEG LY30 values: low LY30, <0.8%; normal LY30, 0.81% to 0.9%; and high LY30, ≥3%. Serial values of molecular markers (0-72 hours after admission) and clinical outcomes were compared between fibrinolysis groups.

A total of 547 patients were included (low LY30, 320; normal LY30, 108; high LY30, 119). The high LY30 group had higher tissue plasminogen activator and plasmin-antiplasmin values upon hospital arrival than the low LY30 or normal LY30 groups (P < .001, respectively). There was no significant difference in levels of tissue plasminogen activator, plasmin-antiplasmin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 between the low LY30 and normal LY30 groups. The high LY30 group was associated with an increased risk of 24-hour and 30-day mortality, while there was no significant difference in mortality between the low LY30 and normal LY30 groups.

Our results suggest that hyperfibrinolysis is the most common form of traumatic fibrinolytic dysfunction and is associated with worse outcome.