ARE PROTHROMBIN FRAGMENT-1-ANTITHROMBIN COMPLEXES USEFUL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ORAL ANTICOAGULANT-THERAPY(2 AND THROMBIN)

We investigated the behavior of prothrombin fragment F1+2 and thrombin -antithrombin complexes in 70 patients treated with chronic anticoagul ant therapy. Moreover, in a longitudinal study 37 patients were evalua ted twice and 16 patients three times. Twenty-eight age- and sex-match ed healthy subjects were also studied as a control group. Prothrombin fragment F1+2 and thrombin-antithrombin complexes were significantly h igher in controls than in patients on anticoagulants. There were no di fferences in prothrombin fragment F1+2 or thrombin-antithrombin values among patients with different International Normalized Ratios, nor in the same patients studied two or three times. Our results confirm tha t oral anticoagulant treatment can effectively reduce thrombin activit y. However, strong anticoagulation does not induce a further significa nt decrease in fragment F1+2 values. Therefore, we feel measurement of fragment F1+2 might be less useful than thought in optimizing oral an ticoagulant therapy.