Elevated plasma levels of fibrin degradation products by granulocyte-derived elastase in patients with deep vein thrombosis.

Plasma levels of granulocyte-derived elastase (GE-XDP), D-dimer and soluble fibrin (SF) were examined in 53 patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and in 100 healthy volunteers. The mean plasma level of D-dimer was 0.92+/-0.81 microg/ml (+/-S.D.) in healthy volunteers and the mean+2 S.D. value (cutoff value for DVT) was 2.53 microg/ml, which was higher than that used in Europe and North America. Plasma levels of GE-XDP, D-dimer and SF were significantly higher in patients with DVT than in healthy volunteers, and diminished after 1 week of treatment with heparin, urokinase or tissue type plasminogen activator, though were still higher than those of the control subjects. The sensitivity of GE-XDP, D-dimer and SF for DVT was 81.1%, 75.5% and 79.2%, respectively. GE-XDP levels correlated with those of D-dimer and SF. Our results indicate that GE-XDP is a potentially useful marker for the diagnosis of DVT, suggesting that granulocytes are activated in patients with DVT. In our system, the cutoff value of D-dimer for the diagnosis of DVT is higher than in western countries, probably due to the use of different analytical assays.