Guidelines for the Use of Thrombolytic Agents

TWO agents that induce thrombolytic activity have recently been approved for clinical use by the Food and Drug Administration: streptokinase (marketed as Streptase by Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals, Somerville, NJ, and as Kabikinase by Kabi Group, Greenwich, CT) and urokinase (marketed as Abbokinase by Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL).1 These drugs activate plasminogen and thus cause the formation of the proteolytic enzyme plasmin. (Other agents with the potential for activating the human fibrinolytic system include Thrombolysin and Actase. These drugs are mixtures of streptokinase, plasminogen, activator complex, and plasmin and have not been subjected to controlled trials in thromboembolic disease.) Clinical studies . . .