Elevated plasma levels of fibrinogen, factor VII coagulant activity (F VIIc), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) have been reported to be strictly associated with thrombotic events and are considered to be important risk markers of atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease. Therefore, we evaluated in 15 patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) the plasma levels of these coagulation factors, basal insulin values, and the lipid pattern in comparison with 33 hemodialysis (HD) patients and 59 healthy subjects. In CAPD the total cholesterol and triglyceride results were significantly increased, but no difference was found in HDL cholesterol. Fibrinogen and F VIIc results were significantly higher in CAPD and HD than in the control group, probably due to an increased hepatic synthesis as a nonspecific response to the peritoneal protein loss. Elevated F VIIc activity may be caused by the presence of large negatively charged lipoproteins, in vivo thrombin formation, or reduced hepatic clearance. Both PAI 1 and t-PA results were higher in CAPD, probably due to an increased synthesis by endothelial cells activated by glucose peritoneal absorption and hypertonic dialysis solutions. The contemporary elevation of fibrinogen, F VIIc, PAI-1, and t-PA suggests that CAPD patients present a hypercoagulability and hypofibrinolysis condition, which may promote the development of atherothrombotic events.

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