[Fibrinolytic treatment of deep venous thromboses with streptokinase at an ultrahigh dosage].

Twenty-one patients with deep vein thrombosis were treated for six hours per day in accordance with an "ultrahigh" dose scheme with 1,500,000 units/hour streptokinase. A maximum of two such cycles were administered in the first ten patients, and the subsequent patients received up to five cycles as required. In terms of clinical chemical parameters, a pronounced lowering of fibrinogen with corresponding elevation of fibrin(ogen) cleavage products regularly occurred during the first cycle. There were great differences in the individual times for which these alterations persisted (12-72 hours). The alterations during the subsequent cycles were very much less, probably because of the pronounced lowering of the plasminogen concentration. The clinical tolerance (including hemorrhagic complications) was roughly comparable with that of a streptokinase treatment with conventional doses. Phlebographic checking of the result of treatment showed that the ultrahigh dosed intermittent dosage scheme is a highly effective treatment procedure with which the duration of treatment can be appreciably shortened compared to conventional dosage schemata: in four cases, a full recanalization could already be attained after a single cycle.