Coagulation studies in Argentine hemorrhagic fever.

Coagulation studies were performed on samples taken from day 6 to day 22 after the onset of symptoms from 32 patients with Argentine hemorrhagic fever, grouped by clinical form into 17 mild cases, nine moderate cases, and six severe cases. The profiles of the coagulation factors during the course of disease were similar in all patients. Partial thromboplastin time activated with kaolin was prolonged in the early stages (78.0 +/- 5.8 sec on day 6 and 47.5 +/- 1.9 sec on day 14). Values for factors II and VII-X remained in the normal range, but factor V activity was greatly enhanced (257.6% +/- 54.7% on day 10). Coagulation alterations tended to normalize after day 14. Fibrinogen profiles differed in the three clinical forms; on day 12 the fibrinogen level increased to 532 +/- 39.3 mg/100 ml in the moderate disease form and to 472 +/- 40.9 mg/100 ml in the severe form. Neither fibrin monomers for fibrinogen degradation products were detected.