A Comparative Study of Four Methods for Detecting Fibrinogen Degradation Products in Patients with Various Diseases

Detection of the products of fibrinogen-fibrin degradation by plasmin constitutes a sensitive method for recognizing consumption coagulopathy or primary fibrinolysis. By this means we compared four assays for fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products (FDP) — staphylococcal clumping, tanned red-cell hemagglutination inhibition, latex agglutination and immunodiffusion — to determine their sensitivity and specificity. Fibrinogen, plasminogen, euglobulin lysis time and thrombin time were measured, in addition to FDP levels, in patients with various diseases and in women on oral contraceptives. In patients with consumption coagulopathy, FDP titers were markedly elevated (p less than 0.01), with good correlations between all three sensitive assays (staphylococcal clumping, hemagglutination inhibition and latex agglutination). Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis had moderate elevation of FDP; lymphoproliferative and renal diseases were characterized by mild elevation of tanned red-cell hemagglutination inhibition alone, whereas those with cancer and rheumatoid arthritis showed mild increases in hemagglutination inhibition and antifibrinogen-antibody-sensitized latex particle titers. In contrast, patients with myocardial infarction and women on oral contraceptives showed no abnormalities.