Intra- and Postoperative Fibrinolysis in Patients Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass Surgery

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The influence of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on fibrinolytic activity was assessed in 100 patients with valvular heart disease or atrial septal defects. Euglobulin fibrinolytic activity (EFA), tissue type plasminogen activator (t-PA) activity, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) activity, plasminogen, α2-antiplasmin (α2-AP), fibrinogen degradation products (FDP), and D-dimer were measured pre-, intra-, and postoperatively. There were significant increases in EFA and t-PA activity (p < 0.002), and decreases in plasminogen and α2-AP (p < 0.0001) intraoperatively with respect to baseline values. t-PA activity decreased significantly after surgery (p < 0.002), whereas PAI-1 activity showed a marked increase shortly after operation and on postoperative day 1 (p < 0.0001). FDP and D-dimer levels were significantly increased both intra- and postoperatively, the latter showing higher values (p < 0.01 and p < 0.0001, respectively). This study shows that there is an activation of the fibrinolytic system, as a result of the increased activation of plasminogen and decreased levels of plasmin inhibitors, during CPB surgery followed by a postoperative fibrinolytic shutdown.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: