Preoperative hypercoagulopathy in patients undergoing orthopedic lower extremity surgery

BACKGROUND: Plasma levels of D-dimer, soluble fibrin monomer complex (SFMC) and FDP were measured in 40 patients for orthopedic lower extremity surgery, using a recently established monoclonal antibody to clarify if these markers are good indicator of deep vein thrombosis(DVT). METHODS: Subjects were 20 patients for total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) (group A) and 20 patients for hip fracture surgery (group F). D-dimer, SFMC and FDP were measured at induction of anesthesia. RESULTS: Preoperative values of D-dimer, FMC and FDP in group F were higher than those in group A, and these values in group F were higher than normal values. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that plasma levels of D-dimer, SFMC and FDP in the patients with hip fracture were higher than those in the patients scheduled for TKA or THA in perioperative period. These suggest that the patients with hip fracture have high risk of DVT.