Pathogenic role of intravascular coagulation in immune diseases.

The tests for the detection of intravascular coagulation and of secondary fibrinolysis performed in 79 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and 30 patients with other collagenoses were positive in over 63% of the cases. A highly significant correlation was found between the presence of fibrinolytic degradation products (FDP) and the incidence of nephropathy and renal insufficiency, as well as between the presence of fibrin monomers (Godal's ethanol-gelification test) and the evolutive signs of the primary disease (fever, accelerated ESR).