Fibrinolysin as an Agent for Treatment of Thromboembolic Accidents

Abstract

THE DEVELOPMENT of effective fibrinolytic (thrombolytic) agents has offered new hope for the treatment of vascular thrombosis and emboli. Many investigations have reported significant improvement over the results obtained by other means of therapy in large numbers of patients with venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, and peripheral arterial thrombosis or embolus. Other conditions which have been treated satisfactorily include central retinal vein and artery thrombosis. Cerebral and coronary thrombosis remain, in the opinion of almost all investigators, a subject which requires prolonged investigation before an opinion concerning usefulness of these agents can be offered.¹ As with many such developments, there has been difference of opinion among investigators concerning specific types of materials to be used to produce the activity desired. This has been compounded in the case of fibrinolysin (Thrombolysin) because of the inability to develop truly objective methods of testing for activity and response. As a result strong opinions