Summary
Plasma levels of betathromboglobulin (BTG), fibrinopeptide A (FPA) and Bβ15–42 fragment,
indices of platelet release, thrombin generation and plasmin activity respectively,
were measured in 32 high risk patients during a double blind study of a single dose
of the anabolic steroid stanozolol (50 mg IM) in the prevention of DVT after major
gastro-intestinal surgery. The prevalence of malignancy and the incidence of DVT (125I fibrinogen scan) were similar in the two treatment groups. On the first postoperative
day, BTG, FPA and Bβ15–42 levels were increased in most patients. Plasma BTG levels
were significantly increased on the first post-operative day in patients who developed
a DVT (n = 14) compared to those patients who did not (n = 18). A significant increase
in FPA levels was found in the DVT group, 7 days after surgery. On the morning before
surgery, plasma Bβ15–42 levels were significantly increased in patients who developed
a DVT. In patients undergoing surgery for early malignancy (n = 17), we observed a
pre-operative increase in FPA levels when compared to patients without malignancy.
At post-operative day 7, Bβ15–42 levels were significantly increased in patients who
received stanozolol (n = 15), when compared to the placebo group, suggesting that
intramuscular stanozolol increases fibrinolysis in vivo.
Keywords
Fibrinolysis - Post-operative DVT - Malignancy - Stanozolol treatment - Platelet release
