Fibrinolytic response to standardized venous occlusion in different age groups.

The purpose of this study was to find out the range and distribution of fibrinolytic response to standardized venous occlusion in healthy volunteers and to determine whether there were any differences according to age and sex. In 118 healthy volunteers (55 males, 63 females) of various age groups, the total fibrinolytic activity in euglobulin fractions was measured by a well controlled fibrin plate method before and after venous occlusion of 5 minutes at 100 mmHg. The difference between our method and previous methods is that we occluded for a relatively shorter duration than that of previous studies (15-20 minutes) at constant pressure (100 mmHg), instead of midway between systolic and diastolic pressure. This method was reliable and reproducible as a tool to qualify and assess the fibrinolytic activity capacity of individuals. The results showed that there was no difference in basal fibrinolytic activity and the response to stimuli in various age groups (p greater than 0.25) and in male and female groups (0.1 less than p less than 0.375).