Fibrinogen

Why this test?

To assess the body's ability to clot formation and detect related disorders, for example, hereditary afibrinogenemia or hypofibrinogenemia, chronic liver diseases, exhaustion of the body, inflammatory process.

In what cases is it prescribed?

With bleeding or a thrombotic episode.

When studying the activated partial thromboplastin time (APT) or thrombin time (TP).

In case of progressive liver disease.

Test information

 Fibrinogen according to the international nomenclature is factor I (first) coagulation of blood plasma. It is produced by the liver and released into the blood along with several other substances that affect its coagulation.

 If a blood vessel or tissue is damaged, hemostasis, or blood clotting, begins in the body, resulting in the appearance of a blood clot (thrombus), which helps to slow down and then stop bleeding. In the process, protein threads called fibrin appear.

They intertwine, forming a fibrin network, which, together with platelets, contributes to the formation of a thrombus, which remains at the site of damage to the vessel until it is completely healed. With a sufficient number of platelets, each of the coagulation factors must act correctly in order to ensure the formation of a stable blood clot.

An insufficient amount or the wrong interaction of these factors can lead to bleeding or thrombosis. Analysis of fibrinogen is necessary in preoperative examination, prenatal diagnosis, in inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases.

Fibrinogen is also one of the blood factors known as «rheumatic tests». The levels of fibrinogen and other rheumatic factors increase sharply in the blood during tissue inflammation or damage. The level of fibrinogen in the blood increases in acute inflammatory diseases, as well as in tissue death. In other cases, it can mean acute infectious and inflammatory diseases, strokes, myocardial infarction, hypothyroidism, amyloidosis, pneumonia, malignant tumors.

The reason for the increased level of fibrinogen is previous operations, burns, the patient's intake of estrogens or oral contraceptives. It is worth noting that treatment with an increased level of fibrinogen may not be necessary in two cases: during pregnancy and during the inflammatory process. Then the indicators of the level of fibrinogen in the blood return to normal by themselves, when the body's condition stabilizes.