The value of serum fibrinogen degradation products in the differential diagnosis between acute myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism.

Serum-FDP was measured in 148 patients with AMI or pulmonary embolism within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms or within 48 hours of the admission to hospital. Within 48 hours of the hospitalisation 14.6% of the patients with AMI Rand 81.8% of the patients pulmonary embolism showed a serum-FDP elevation to over 10 units/ml. The use of the analysis is limited by the time which elapses until the result is available, by the short duration of the serum-FDP elevation and by the lack of specificity of the examination.