Urinary thrombin as a marker of local disseminated intravascular coagulation in patients with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

The aim of this research was to study the diagnostic markers of nonovert local disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) syndrome in the urine of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We conducted a prospective study involving 140 patients with CKD, of these patients, 100 patients (71.4%; 95% CI 53.4-76.7) had glomerulonephritis (GN) and 40 patients (28.6%; 95% CI 21.3-36.8) had diabetic nephropathy (DN). We diagnosed overt DIC syndrome on the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) scale (>5 points) in 18.6 % of patients. We determined the level of thrombin in the urine of patients who had <5 points on ISTH scale for the diagnosis of local nonovert DIC syndrome in the kidneys. In the urine of healthy individuals, the level of thrombin did not exceed 1 ng/ml, so we found no thrombinuria at a thrombin level <1 ng/ml. In 56.1% of patients, we found urinary thrombin levels >1 ng/ml. The average level of thrombin in the urine of these patients was 6.5 (4.8; 10.6) ng/ml. In our opinion, the presence of thrombinuria indicates the intensity of monocytic-macrophage inflammation in the glomeruli and may be a criterion for nonovert, local DIC syndrome in the kidneys. The association of overt DIC syndrome with decreased blood albumin, reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR), increased daily protein excretion (DPE) indicates its occurrence in severe underlying disease, in the presence of nephrotic syndrome and in the severe stages of CKD. Early diagnosis of  nonovert local DIC syndrome would be more useful, since the process is still reversible and controlled, and timely use of antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy would affect the course and the progression of CKD.