Thrombin-antithrombin III-complex & fibrin degradation products in plasma: surgery and postoperative deep venous thrombosis.

Thrombin-antithrombin-III complexes (TAT) & D-dimer in plasma, and fibrin(ogen) degradation products (FDP) in serum, were measured in 48 patients subjected to total hip arthroplasty. Blood samples were collected on days -1, 0, 1, 3, 7 and 10. Five patients developed postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) diagnosed by venography. A characteristic pattern of TAT and D-dimer secondary to surgery was demonstrated. A poor correlation was found between ELISA- and latex-D-dimer concentrations after the operation. Patients with DVT had significantly higher TAT-levels preoperatively, and on day 0, 7 and 10. The concentration of FDP was significantly elevated in patients with DVT on day 7 and that of ELISA D-dimer on days 0 & 10. None of the assays are clinically valuable for purposes of postoperative screening for DVT. The preoperative plasma TAT concentration may represent a valuable predictive marker of postoperative DVT.