Association between venous thromboembolism and plasma levels of both soluble fibrin and plasminogen-activator inhibitor 1 in 170 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty

Abstract

Background and purpose Markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis, such as soluble fibrin (SF), D-dimer, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), have been developed in order to determine thrombotic tendency. We investigated whether these markers could be used to diagnose venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the early phase after primary total hip arthroplasty (THA).Methods This prospective study involved 2 groups: an intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) group (67 patients who underwent IPC only as prophylaxis for VTE) and a fondaparinux (FPX) group (103 patients who received IPC and FPX postoperatively). Plasma levels of SF and PAI-1 were measured on postoperative day 1. To diagnose postoperative VTE, multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) and duplex ultrasonography (US) were performed on postoperative day 7.Results VTE was detected postoperatively in 17 cases in the IPC group (25%) and in 8 cases in the FPX group (6%). In the IPC group, plasma levels of SF and PAI-1 were higher in patients with VTE (p Interpretation Screening using the cutoff levels of SF and PAI-1 may be useful and shows high sensitivity in predicting postoperative VTE in the early phase after THA.