Soluble fibrin: a predictor for the development and outcome of multiple organ failure

According to our hypothesis ICU patients with signs of early hypercoagulation should develop more organ system failures that result in higher mortality rates and longer treatment periods. Routine coagulation tests are unreliable for measuring early hypercoagulation.

Soluble fibrin (SF), reflecting hypercoagulation, was assessed at an early stage in 101 ICU patients. A spectrophotometric method using chromogenic peptide substrates was employed. The patients were divided into four groups, depending on the patient's highest level of SF within the first week after admission: Group I (21 patients), SF < 15 nmol/L (reference level); Group II (27 patients), SF 15-29 nmol/L; Group III (26 patients), SF 30-50 nmol/L and Group IV (27 patients), SF > 50 nmol/L. The number of secondary failing organ systems and the ventilator time, ICU time and mortality rates were recorded.

There was a significant increase in the number of secondary failing organ systems (P < 0.0001) and a significantly increased mortality for the groups with higher SF (P = 0.01). There was a mean of 0.6, 1.3, 2.4, and 3.4 failing organs and a mortality of 14%, 22%, 30%, and 46% in the respective groups. The ventilator time and the ICU time were longest in Group III, but again shorter for Group IV (with the highest mortality). The mean ventilator times were 2.7, 6.4, 8.4, and 5.9 days and the mean ICU times were 4.1, 8.6, 10.3, and 7.3 days in the respective groups. Thirteen patients with SF > 100 nmol/L had a mean of 4.2 failing organ systems and an 85% mortality.

Soluble fibrin, a marker of hypercoagulation, seems to predict organ system failure and outcome in ICU patients.