Suppression of thrombin formation during hemodialysis with triglyceride.

Effect of blood-air contact in the venous line air-trap chamber on blood clotting was studied. Fourteen chronic hemodialysis patients (six men, eight women; mean age, 49 years) with elevation of thrombin-antithrombin III were studied. To prevent blood-air contact, triglyceride (NOF-005) was floated over the blood in the chamber. Control hemodialysis was performed for 4 weeks and hemodialysis using NOF-005 followed for the next 4 weeks. Clot formation in the circuit was examined after each hemodialysis and clotting factors including thrombin-antithrombin III, FXII Antigen, vWF Antigen, PF4 and beta-thromboglobulin were measured before and after the last hemodialysis of each control and NOF-005 hemodialysis. Clotting in the chamber was improved when NOF-005 was used. Thrombin-antithrombin III increase during hemodialysis was suppressed to about 30% of control values by using NOF-005. blood-air contact seems to promote thrombin generation and accelerate clot formation.