ROENTGEN CONTRAST-MEDIA AND FIBRINOLYSIS

A review of the literature on the influence of contrast media (CM) on fibrinolysis showed that information currently available is contradict ory, inconclusive and fragmentary. Results of some in vivo studies sug gest that both ionic and nonionic CM increase fibrinolytic activity, e ither by lowering plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 levels, by releasing endogeneous tissue plasminogen activator and/or by altering the fibrin meshwork of thrombi. Most in vitro studies on the subject c ontain results that are contradictory to those from in vivo studies. T he discrepancies are due to obvious differences between systems which are, at best, only comparable under conditions of stagnant flow. Thus, great care should be exercised when extrapolating or interchanging da ta obtained in vivo and in vitro.