[Hemostasis in patients with acute leukemia treated with high doses of cytosine-arabinoside: the effect of chemotherapy and infectious complications on hemostasis].

Haemostatic parameters were studied in 12 adult patients with acute myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in complete remission using high-dose cytosine arabinoside regiments together with with other drugs. Increased tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA:Ag) antigen 4 hours after AraC application (p < 0.05) as well as increased levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor activity (PAI) (p < 0.05) and fibrinopeptide A (FPA) antigen (p < 0.05) were observed on day 2. All patients during bone marrow aplasia suffered from infectious complications (7 from sepsis and 5 from fever of undetermined origin). During that period of infection the increased levels of FPA on day 21 (p < 0.05), PAI on days 15 and 21 (p < 0.05) and fibrinogen on day 21 (p < 0.05) as well as decreased values of antithrombin III (p < 0.05) on day 21 and protein C on day 15 (p < 0.05) were measured. t-PA:Ag, plasminogen, alpha 2 antiplasmin and fibrin(ogen) degradation products were within normal throughout infectious complications. None of the patients experienced clinically manifest thrombotic complication. Though the results demonstrate that changes found were not clinically important (even if they were statistically significant), and that haemostasis was compensated as well as that thrombosis was not serious problem, authors recommend routine haemostasis monitoring in acute leukaemia patients, especially at diagnosis, in association with chemotherapy and during infectious complications.