• S Aronis, H Platokouki, S Photopoulos, E Adamtziki, and M Xanthou.
• Haemophilia and Haemostasis Unit, 'Aghia Sophia' Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
• Biol. Neonate. 1998 Nov 1; 74 (5): 337-44.

AbstractA combined hemostatic defect consisting of a reduction in certain procoagulants, anticoagulants (antithrombin III-ATIII-, protein C-PC-) and components of the fibrinolytic system (plasminogen-Plg-) was demonstrated in very-low-birth-weight infants (VLBW <1,500 g) with gestational age 26-32 weeks. Sixteen of them were healthy, 28 were suffering from RDS and 24 from septicemia. The hemostatic defect was more profound in the RDS group, nevertheless increased TAT (thrombin + ATIII complex) and/or PAP values (plasmin + a2-antiplasmin complex) was a more frequent finding in the septicemic group of infants (91.8 vs. 17.9%). Moderate-to-severe thrombocytopenia was detected in a higher percentage in the septicemic (70.8%) than in the RDS group (50%), and increased D-dimers were demonstrated in 34.8 and 28.6% of the infants, respectively. Elevated TAT or PAP values were not always associated with gross coagulation abnormalities, and advanced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) was only documented in 16.7% of the septicemic and 7.1% of the RDS infants. None of the VLBW neonates presented with clinical evidence of thrombosis, although hemorrhagic manifestations were apparent in 34.8 and 14.3% of the neonates with septicemia or RDS, respectively, mainly due to DIC or severe thrombocytopenia. In conclusion, increased TAT and/or PAP values are good indicators of the in vivo activation of the hemostatic system, but still their impact on sick neonates morbidity and mortality remains unknown.

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