Two cases of the nephrotic syndrome with a reversible coagulation defect

Two cases of the nephrotic syndrome with an apparently identical defect of blood coagulation, discovered during preparation for renal biopsy are described. Plasma from both patients showed prolongation of thrombin and kaolin cephalin times which was probably due to abnormally slow polymerization of fibrin monomer. Corticosteroid therapy reversed the abnormal times in one case. One of the patients showed seasonal relapses which occurred in relation to episodes of hay fever associated with allergy to grass pollen. The other patient showed some similar features, but on renal biopsy was found to have proliferative glomerulonephritis.