The value of FDP/FIB and D-dimer/FIB ratios in predicting high-risk APL-related thrombosis

Hemorrhage is the typical manifestation of APL-related coagulopathy while thrombosis is infrequently reported. In a retrospective analysis with 33 patients with hyperleukocytic APL, we found 6 out of 33 hyperleukocytic APL patients presented with thrombosis rather than hemorrhage. A notable feature in these high-risk APL patients with thrombosis is that there were no significant abnormalities in fibrinogen (FIB), prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). Compared with the normal ranges, both the high-risk APL patients with thrombosis and the high-risk APL patients with hemorrhage had a significant increase in fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) and d-dimer levels. However, the group with hemorrhage had noticeably higher plasma levels of FDP and d-dimer than the group with thrombosis. To find a close relationship between coagulation markers and the onset of thrombotic events in patients with high-risk APL, the potential effects of FDP/FIB and d-dimer/FIB ratios as risk markers were investigated. We demonstrated that FDP/FIB and d-dimer/FIB ratios in the patients with high-risk APL with thrombosis showed higher ratios than the normal range but significantly lower ratios than the patients with high-risk APL-related hemorrhage. Our data demonstrated that the alteration in FDP/FIB and d-dimer/FIB ratios have more significant relevance than the levels of FIB, FDP or d-dimer as potential factors for predicting thrombosis and may help with designing more appropriately risk-adapted treatment protocols or personalized therapy.