D-dimer and platelet aggregability are related to thrombotic events in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

AIMS: To evaluate the frequency of arterial thrombotic events in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease during 3-5 years of follow-up and to determine whether baseline levels of haemostatic factors were related to the risk of future thrombotic events. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-three patients, mean age 56 years, with peripheral arterial occlusive disease and intermittent claudication were followed prospectively for an average of 4.2 years. Fibrinogen, prothrombin fragment 1+2, D-dimer, tissue plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor type I antigen and activity, plasmin-alpha(2)-antiplasmin complex, beta thromboglobulin and ADP-induced platelet aggregation were measured at the recruitment. Thirty-eight new vascular events (15 fatal) were identified. Age- (and other clinical and laboratory variables) -adjusted relative risks (RR) of thrombotic events were significantly elevated (P<0.05) per higher value of D-dimer (RR: 14.1, 95% CI 1.7;115.8) and platelet aggregation was low (RR: 4.6, 95% CI 1.3;16.3). Diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, and continuing deterioration of intermittent claudication at the recruitment were also independently associated with risk of thrombotic events in the multiple regression model (RR: 5.2, 95% CI 1.5;17.5; RR: 8.6, 95% CI 2.7;27.4; RR: 2.6, 95% CI 1.2;5.7 respectively). CONCLUSION: Elevated level of D-dimer and low platelet aggregation are independent haemostatic predictors of thrombotic events in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

Effects of indobufen and pentoxifylline on walking capacity and hemostasis in patients with intermittent claudication: results of six months of treatment.

Seventy-one patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) were randomized into two groups of different treatment modalities. The diagnosis of PAOD was established by history of intermittent claudication, clinical examination, and by Doppler pressure assessment or lower extremity arteriography. After a three-month washout period, 35 patients (Group 1) started treatment with indobufen (400 mg per day) and 36 patients (Group 2) with pentoxifylline (600 mg per day). Twenty-nine patients from each group completed six months of treatment. Both of the drugs significantly improved maximal and pain-free walking distances, but the effect of indobufen was more pronounced than that of pentoxifylline. Patients with PAOD exhibited signs of hypercoagulation. Fibrinogen, D-dimer, and b-thromboglobulin concentrations did not change significantly following treatment in both of the groups. The authors observed a decrease of platelet aggregation after treatment with indobufen and a decrease of F1 + 2 fragment and PAI-1 antigen after treatment with pentoxifylline.

[The antagonist of type-II serotonin receptors naftidrofuryl in the treatment of patients with intermittent claudication]. / Antagonist serotoninovykh retseptorov II tipa naftidrofuril pri lechenii bol'nykh s peremezhaiushcheisia khromotoi.

The authors' findings say about compatibility of clinical responses to naftidrofuril (daily dose 600 mg) and pentoxifillin (daily dose 600 mg) in patients with atherosclerosis of the lower limb artery and intermittent claudication stage II. Both the drugs had minimal effects on coagulant and fibrinolytic systems and platelet aggregation.