Fibrinolysis in pre-eclamptic toxaemia of pregnancy.

Plasma fibrinolysis is much reduced in normal pregnancy but is the same in women with toxaemia or hypertension, though urinary fibrinolysis is lower in them. The evidence suggests that in toxaemia there must be in addition a slow state of intravascular coagulation. Fibrinolytic inhibitors were found to be normal in this series, though in pregnancy there are raised levels of antitrypsin, alpha(2)-macroglobulin, and beta-lipoprotein. beta-Lipoprotein levels in non-pregnant patients show a correlation with euglobulin lysis times and with inhibitor units.