Increased thrombin generation in splanchnic vein thrombosis is related to the presence of liver cirrhosis and not to the thrombotic event

• Background: In recent years there have been increasing evidence associating liver disease with hypercoagulability, rather than bleeding.Aims: To evaluate the haemostatic potential in patients with liver disease.Methods: We measured thrombin generation in the presence and absence of thrombomodulin in patients with portal vein thrombosis (PVT, n=47), Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS, n=15) and cirrhosis (n=24) and compared the results to those obtained from healthy controls (n=21). Fifteen patients with PVT and 10 patients with BCS were treated with warfarin and were compared with an equal number of patients with atrial fibrillation matched for prothrombin time-international normalized ratio. We assessed resistance to thrombomodulin by using ratios [marker measured in the presence]/[marker measured in the absence of thrombomodulin].Results: There were no differences between patients with BCS, patients on warfarin treatment and controls. Cirrhotic patients generated more thrombin in the presence of thrombomodulin and exhibited thrombomodulin resistance compared with controls [p=0.006 for endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) and p<0.001 for peak thrombin. P<0.001 for both ratios ETP and peak] and patients with non-cirrhotic PVT (p=0.001, p=0.006, p<0.001, p<0.001 for ETP, peak, ratio ETP, ratio peak). The patients with cirrhotic PVT exhibited higher ETP (p=0.044) and peak (p=0.02) in the presence of thrombomodulin than controls, as well as thrombomodulin resistance (ETP ratio: p=0.001, peak ratio: p=0.001).Conclusions: Hypercoagulability and thrombomodulin resistance in patients with cirrhosis were independent of the presence of splanchnic vein thrombosis. The hypercoagulability in patients with cirrhotic PVT could have implications for considering longer treatment with anticoagulants in this group.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Kardiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Thrombin generation

portal vein thrombosis

Budd-Chiari syndrome

cirrhosis

thrombomodulin

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