Primary fibrinogenolysis

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Primary fibrinogenolysis is the pathological lysis of fibrinogen characterized with a low fibrinogen, high fibrin degradation products, prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time, a normal platelet count and absence of microcirculatory thrombosis. [1]

Contents

Diagnosis

The most important differential diagnosis is disseminated intravascular coagulation, which is characterized with similar features but presence of a low platelet count and microcirculatory thrombosis. Antifibrinolytic treatments are contraindicated in patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation while they are useful in the treatment of primary fibrinogenolysis.

Management

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombus</span> Blood clot

A thrombus, colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cross-linked fibrin protein. The substance making up a thrombus is sometimes called cruor. A thrombus is a healthy response to injury intended to stop and prevent further bleeding, but can be harmful in thrombosis, when a clot obstructs blood flow through healthy blood vessels in the circulatory system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platelet</span> Component of blood aiding in coagulation

Platelets or thrombocytes are a component of blood whose function is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby initiating a blood clot. Platelets have no cell nucleus; they are fragments of cytoplasm derived from the megakaryocytes of the bone marrow or lung, which then enter the circulation. Platelets are found only in mammals, whereas in other vertebrates, thrombocytes circulate as intact mononuclear cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coagulation</span> Process of formation of blood clots

Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism of coagulation involves activation, adhesion and aggregation of platelets, as well as deposition and maturation of fibrin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disseminated intravascular coagulation</span> Medical condition

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a condition in which blood clots form throughout the body, blocking small blood vessels. Symptoms may include chest pain, shortness of breath, leg pain, problems speaking, or problems moving parts of the body. As clotting factors and platelets are used up, bleeding may occur. This may include blood in the urine, blood in the stool, or bleeding into the skin. Complications may include organ failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fibrinogen</span> Soluble protein complex in blood plasma and involved in clot formation

Fibrinogen is a glycoprotein complex, produced in the liver, that circulates in the blood of all vertebrates. During tissue and vascular injury, it is converted enzymatically by thrombin to fibrin and then to a fibrin-based blood clot. Fibrin clots function primarily to occlude blood vessels to stop bleeding. Fibrin also binds and reduces the activity of thrombin. This activity, sometimes referred to as antithrombin I, limits clotting. Fibrin also mediates blood platelet and endothelial cell spreading, tissue fibroblast proliferation, capillary tube formation, and angiogenesis and thereby promotes revascularization and wound healing.

In biology, hemostasis or haemostasis is a process to prevent and stop bleeding, meaning to keep blood within a damaged blood vessel. It is the first stage of wound healing. This involves coagulation, which changes blood from a liquid to a gel. Intact blood vessels are central to moderating blood's tendency to form clots. The endothelial cells of intact vessels prevent blood clotting with a heparin-like molecule and thrombomodulin, and prevent platelet aggregation with nitric oxide and prostacyclin. When endothelium of a blood vessel is damaged, the endothelial cells stop secretion of coagulation and aggregation inhibitors and instead secrete von Willebrand factor, which initiate the maintenance of hemostasis after injury. Hemostasis involves three major steps:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombocytopenia</span> Abnormally low levels of platelets in the blood

In hematology, thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets in the blood. Low levels of platelets in turn may lead to prolonged or excessive bleeding. It is the most common coagulation disorder among intensive care patients and is seen in a fifth of medical patients and a third of surgical patients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleeding diathesis</span> Medical condition

In medicine (hematology), bleeding diathesis is an unusual susceptibility to bleed (hemorrhage) mostly due to hypocoagulability, in turn caused by a coagulopathy. Therefore, this may result in the reduction of platelets being produced and leads to excessive bleeding. Several types of coagulopathy are distinguished, ranging from mild to lethal. Coagulopathy can be caused by thinning of the skin, such that the skin is weakened and is bruised easily and frequently without any trauma or injury to the body. Also, coagulopathy can be contributed by impaired wound healing or impaired clot formation.

D-dimer is a dimer that is a fibrin degradation product, a small protein fragment present in the blood after a blood clot is degraded by fibrinolysis. It is so named because it contains two D fragments of the fibrin protein joined by a cross-link, hence forming a protein dimer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schistocyte</span> Fragmented portion of a red blood cell

A schistocyte or schizocyte is a fragmented part of a red blood cell. Schistocytes are typically irregularly shaped, jagged, and have two pointed ends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypoprothrombinemia</span> Medical condition

Hypoprothrombinemia is a rare blood disorder in which a deficiency in immunoreactive prothrombin, produced in the liver, results in an impaired blood clotting reaction, leading to an increased physiological risk for spontaneous bleeding. This condition can be observed in the gastrointestinal system, cranial vault, and superficial integumentary system, affecting both the male and female population. Prothrombin is a critical protein that is involved in the process of hemostasis, as well as illustrating procoagulant activities. This condition is characterized as an autosomal recessive inheritance congenital coagulation disorder affecting 1 per 2,000,000 of the population, worldwide, but is also attributed as acquired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrombotic microangiopathy</span> Medical condition

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a pathology that results in thrombosis in capillaries and arterioles, due to an endothelial injury. It may be seen in association with thrombocytopenia, anemia, purpura and kidney failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasabach–Merritt syndrome</span> Medical condition

Kasabach–Merritt syndrome, also known as hemangioma with thrombocytopenia, is a rare disease, usually of infants, in which a vascular tumor leads to decreased platelet counts and sometimes other bleeding problems, which can be life-threatening. It is also known as hemangioma thrombocytopenia syndrome. It is named after Haig Haigouni Kasabach and Katharine Krom Merritt, the two pediatricians who first described the condition in 1940.

Purpura fulminans is an acute, often fatal, thrombotic disorder which manifests as blood spots, bruising and discolouration of the skin resulting from coagulation in small blood vessels within the skin and rapidly leads to skin necrosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

The dysfibrinogenemias consist of three types of fibrinogen disorders in which a critical blood clotting factor, fibrinogen, circulates at normal levels but is dysfunctional. Congenital dysfibrinogenemia is an inherited disorder in which one of the parental genes produces an abnormal fibrinogen. This fibrinogen interferes with normal blood clotting and/or lysis of blood clots. The condition therefore may cause pathological bleeding and/or thrombosis. Acquired dysfibrinogenemia is a non-hereditary disorder in which fibrinogen is dysfunctional due to the presence of liver disease, autoimmune disease, a plasma cell dyscrasias, or certain cancers. It is associated primarily with pathological bleeding. Hereditary fibrinogen Aα-Chain amyloidosis is a sub-category of congenital dysfibrinogenemia in which the dysfunctional fibrinogen does not cause bleeding or thrombosis but rather gradually accumulates in, and disrupts the function of, the kidney.

Venom-induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC) is a medical condition caused by the effects of some snake and caterpillar venoms on the blood. Important coagulation factors are activated by the specific serine proteases in the venom and as they become exhausted, coagulopathy develops. Symptoms are consistent with uncontrolled bleeding. Diagnosis is made using blood tests that assess clotting ability along with recent history of envenomation. Treatment generally involves pressure dressing, confirmatory blood testing, and antivenom administration.

Thromboelastometry (TEM), previously named rotational thromboelastography (ROTEG) or rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM), is an established viscoelastic method for hemostasis testing in whole blood. It is a modification of traditional thromboelastography (TEG).

Intravascular immunity describes the immune response in the bloodstream, and its role is to fight and prevent the spread of pathogens. Components of intravascular immunity include the cellular immune response and the macromolecules secreted by these cells. It can result in responses such as inflammation and immunothrombosis. Dysregulated intravascular immune response or pathogen evasion can create conditions like thrombosis, sepsis, or disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Congenital hypofibrinogenemia is a rare disorder in which one of the three genes responsible for producing fibrinogen, a critical blood clotting factor, is unable to make a functional fibrinogen glycoprotein because of an inherited mutation. In consequence, liver cells, the normal site of fibrinogen production, make small amounts of this critical coagulation protein, blood levels of fibrinogen are low, and individuals with the disorder may develop a coagulopathy, i.e. a diathesis or propensity to experience episodes of abnormal bleeding. However, individuals with congenital hypofibrinogenemia may also have episodes of abnormal blood clot formation, i.e. thrombosis. This seemingly paradoxical propensity to develop thrombosis in a disorder causing a decrease in a critical protein for blood clotting may be due to the function of fibrin to promote the lysis or disintegration of blood clots. Lower levels of fibrin may reduce the lysis of early fibrin strand depositions and thereby allow these depositions to develop into clots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embolic and thrombotic events after COVID-19 vaccination</span> Post vaccination adverse effects

Post-vaccination embolic and thrombotic events, termed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT), thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT), or vaccine-associated thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VATT), are rare types of blood clotting syndromes that were initially observed in a number of people who had previously received the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID‑19 vaccine (AZD1222) during the COVID‑19 pandemic. It was subsequently also described in the Janssen COVID‑19 vaccine, leading to the suspension of its use until its safety had been reassessed. On 5 May 2022 the FDA posted a bulletin limiting the use of the Janssen Vaccine to very specific cases due to further reassessment of the risks of TTS, although the FDA also stated in the same bulletin that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

References

  1. Biron-Andréani C, Morau E, Schved JF, Hédon B, Dechaud H. Amniotic fluid embolism with haemostasis complications: primary fibrinogenolysis or disseminated intravascular coagulation? Pathophysiol Haemost Thromb. 2003;33(3):170-171