Plasma fibrinopeptide A and beta-thromboglobulin in major bacterial infections.

The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of plasma fibrinopeptide A and beta-thromboglobulin concentrations for the diagnosis of acute venous thromboembolism in patients with a major bacterial infection. In 80 controls the mean plasma fibrinopeptide A concentration was 0.72 +/- 0.47 (ng/ml +/- SD) and the mean plasma beta-thromboglobulin concentration 28.2 +/- 10.1 (ng/ml +/- SD). On admission the mean fibrinopeptide A concentration was significantly raised (5.42 ng/ml) in these patients and 17 of them had a raised fibrinopeptide A concentration. However, the mean beta-thromboglobulin concentration was not significantly different from that of the healthy individuals (35.4 ng/ml) and only three patients had an increased beta-thromboglobulin concentration. Our data show that patients with major bacterial infections tend to have increased fibrinopeptide A and normal beta-thromboglobulin concentrations. Consequently, the measuring of plasma fibrinopeptide A concentration is useless for the diagnosis of acute venous thromboembolism in these patients. However, the determination of plasma beta-thromboglobulin concentration can still be used for this purpose, since a normal beta-thromboglobulin concentration excludes the presence of acute venous thrombosis.