Increased levels of fibrinolysis reaction products (D-dimer) in patients with decompensated alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

We studied the activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis in the blood of patients with compensated (n = 25) and decompensated (n = 25) liver cirrhosis. We observed increased blood concentrations of thrombin-antithrombin III (TAT) complexes (p less than 0.001) and of D-dimer (p less than 0.001) in both groups of patients compared with healthy volunteers (n = 25). The blood levels of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) activity (p less than 0.001) and the concentrations of t-PA antigen (p less than 0.001) were also significantly raised in both groups of patients compared with controls, whereas plasminogen activator inhibitor did not deviate. There were no significant differences in the determined variables between the two groups of patients except that the concentrations of D-dimer were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. The ratio between D-dimer and TAT did not deviate between patients with compensated liver cirrhosis and healthy volunteers but was significantly increased in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. These observations indicate that efflux from the extravascular space (for example, ascitic fluid) contributes to the high concentrations of fibrin degradation products (D-dimer) in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. In addition, we conclude that patients with liver cirrhosis have an enhanced activation of both coagulation and fibrinolysis but that the balance between these two systems is not significantly displaced compared with healthy volunteers.