Value of thrombin-antithrombin III complexes in major orthopedic surgery: relation to the onset of venous thromboembolism.

This study evaluated (a) the possible changes of plasma levels of thrombin-antithrombin III complexes during hospitalization to predict venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing elective total hip replacement and (b) the sensitivity and specificity of thrombin-antithrombin III complexes in the late incidence of deep vein thrombosis when these patients are discharged from the hospital. In 50 consecutive patients (18 men, mean age = 63 +/- 8 years) a venous blood sample was obtained from each patient before surgery and postsurgery on days 5 +/- 2, 9 +/- 2, and 45 to evaluate the thrombin-antithrombin III complexes by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a part of a larger surveillance program. Six of 50 patients developed deep vein thrombosis, diagnosed by phlebography on the 45th day postsurgery.

Soluble plasma thrombomodulin levels in patients with chronic myeloproliferative disorder.

The plasma levels of soluble thrombomodulin (TM) were measured in 44 patients with chronic myeloproliferative disorder, 15 with polycythemia vera (PV), 29 with essential thrombocythemia (ET), and a group of 62 matched healthy controls. The younger patients had significantly lower TM levels (mean: 15.6 +/- 4.

Endothelial cell-associated tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) antigen in severe nondiabetic obese patients: effect of hyperinsulinemia.

It has been suggested that the extrinsic coagulation system plays a crucial role in the initiation of blood coagulation in atherosclerotic disease and that TFPI, the inhibitor of the factor VIIa/tissue factor complex, bound to the endothelial cells, could prevent in vivo blood clotting. Because obesity has a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, we measured TFPI antigen plasma levels (ng/mL) by ELISA at baseline and 5 minutes after an IV bolus of 20 IU/kg body weight of unfractionated commercial mucous heparin in 12 obese patients with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 41.4 +/- 1.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) antigen plasma level in patients with interstitial lung disease before and after heparin administration.

The extrinsic pathway is probably the predominant pathway in initiating blood coagulation in inflammatory lung diseases. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor of factor VIIa/tissue factor in the presence of factor Xa. As it has been shown recently that TFPI plasma levels are increased under acute inflammatory conditions, we studied TFPI antigen plasma levels before and after injecting 20 IU/kg body weight of unfractionated heparin into 49 patients with different stages of sarcoidosis, into 9 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and into 15 normal controls.