Use of noninvasive laboratory testing in the prediction of thrombosis in the nephrotic syndrome.

A noninvasive method for diagnosing thrombosis in the nephrotic syndrome could be useful clinically. We measured hematocrit, fibrinogen, creatinine, antithrombin III, plasminogen, and alpha-2-plasmin inhibitor levels in 20 patients with nephrotic syndrome objectively studied for the presence of thrombosis, and found that by using combinations of three or more of these variables good discrimination could be obtained between those patients with and without thrombosis. We conclude that it is possible to predict risk of thrombosis in nephrotic syndrome using relatively simple noninvasive laboratory tests.