Enhanced antiplasmin activity in acute renal failure.

Plasmatic slow plasmin-inhibitor activity was assessed in 20 patients with acute renal failure and 12 controls with the fibrin plate method. The area of fibrinolysis was 250-5 +/- 5 mm2 in the patients and 289 +/- 6mm2 in the controls (P less than 0.001) and was negatively correlated with antiplasmin activity. Thirteen patients had areas of lysis equal to or inferior to the minimal lysis observed in the controls. No correlation was found between antiplasmin activity and serum fibrin-fibrinogen related antigen titres, the presence or absence of disseminated intravascular coagulation, or the causative disease.