Hemostatic status in subjects with deep venous thrombosis

The authors report a study on the hemostatic status of a group of patients with deep venous thrombosis in order to highlight the possible pathogenetic responsibility of blood coagulative disorders in the genesis of thrombosis. The group consisted of 27 patients (14 males, 13 females, mean age 48 +/- 4 years) with deep venous thrombosis of the lower limbs (clinical symptoms were primary in 21 cases, secondary in 6 cases) diagnosed on the basis of clinical data and ultrasonographic instrumental findings. Fourteen normal subjects were also examined as a control group (12 males, 2 females, mean age 28 +/- 5 years). Venous blood was collected on fasting from patients and controls to examine the following parameters: fibrinogen (F), factor VII (F VII), antithrombin III (AT III), protein C (PC), protein S (PS) using coagulometric methods (IL), and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), fibrinopeptide A (FPA), betathromboglobulin (BTG) and dimer-D (D-D) using ELISA methods (Boehringer). Patients with deep venous thrombosis showed a significant increase in F, FVII, tPA and D-D levels compared to controls, whereas a significant reduction was observed in PAI-1. Nonsignificant variations were found for AT III, PC, PS and BTG. In the light of these results the authors affirm that: high fibrinogen and factor VII levels are highly prognostic for thrombosis in patients with deep venous thrombosis; the importance of the lack of inhibitory factors (AT III, PC, PS) is confined to individual genetically predisposed cases; there is an efficacious hyperfibrinolytic reactive response to the presence of thrombus (increase in tPA and D-D, reduction of PAI-1).