Stroke and Blood Coagulation

Differences were detected between normals versus patients with thrombotic stroke and patients with diabetes mellitus, but the clinical significance of these differences is not of practical value in the diagnosis or as a guide to therapy for stroke.

Abstract

A study of the coagulation parameters of 87 normal controls (ages 50 to 80) were compared with those of 33 patients with thrombotic stroke and 55 patients with diabetes mellitus of the same age distribution. There were no significant differences when tested for the influence of sex or age. Twenty-seven tests of clotting were done on each specimen, a total of 4,725. Significant differences were detected between normals versus patients with thrombotic stroke (fibrinogen level, glass clotting time, silicone clotting time, heparin tolerance, platelet count and retarded thromboplastin generation time BaSO 4 1:50 dilution) and between normals versus patients with diabetes (prothrombin time, silicone clotting time, platelet count, thromboplastin generation time and retarded thromboplastin generation time) when subjected to computer analysis. The clinical significance of these differences is not of practical value in the diagnosis or as a guide to therapy for stroke.