A coagulation anomaly: Plasma being made non-clottable by adding thrombin, and clottable by thromboplastin-calcium of toluidine blue-thrombin

Abstract

Plasma samples obtained from 3 cases of a severe hemorrhagic disorder with hypofibrinogenemia during pregnancy were not clotted by simple addition of thrombin but clotted with thromboplastin-calcium or toluidine blue-thrombin. Laboratory results revealed severe coagulation defects and elevated fibrinolytic activity. In these cases, fibrinogen concentration determined by a procedure of centrifugation after heating at 56°C was markedly higher than that obtained by adding thromboplastin-calcium or toluidine blue-thrombin. The facts suggest that a significant amount of digest products of fibrinogen by plasmin, which are still coagulable by heating and have an anticoagulant activity, must be present in the patients' plasma. © 1964, Tohoku University Medical Press. All rights reserved.