Urinary fibrinolysis in toxemia of pregnancy.

Serial determinations of urinary plasmin level by radiocaseinolytic assay were performed in 40 healthy women and 29 patients with various types of toxemia throughout pregnancy, labor and the puerperium. The results indicate that: 1. The urinary plasmin level in normal pregnancy increased significantly from the third trimester to the early puerperium. 2. In mild pre-eclampsia, a significant rise in urinary plasmin level from 26 weeks of gestation to the 4th day post-partum. 3. In severe pre-eclampsia, a progressive decrease in late pregnancy was found. After delivery, in the early puerperium, the urinary plasmin level of the patients with a rapid clinical was significantly higher than that of the patients with the sequelae of toxemia. Our study showed that serial assays of urinary plasmin activity can provide a reliable and sensitive index of severity, progression and natural history of toxemia of pregnancy.