Physiochemical responses to heparin in non-pregnant, normal pregnant, and eclamptic patients.

Abstract

SummaryHeparin 50 mg. was injected intravenously into four groups of patients: non‐pregnant women who were not taking oral contraceptives, non‐pregnant women taking oral contraceptives, normal pregnant women, and eclamptic patients. Blood was collected before and ten minutes after the injection, and the following determinations were carried out: Lee‐White clotting time, serum free fatty acid concentration, in vitro lipoprotein lipase assay, in vitro post‐heparin phospholipase assay, and in vitro post‐heparin esterase assay.After the heparin injection, non‐pregnant patients showed a significantly greater prolongation of clotting time than pregnant patients. No significant differences were noted in increments of serum free fatty acid concentrations. The lipoprotein lipase and post‐heparin esterase assays in the post‐heparin serum showed greatest activity in the non‐pregnant women who were not taking oral contraceptives, least activity in the pregnant women, with the non‐pregnant women who were taking oral contraceptives intermediate between the others. The post‐heparin phospholipase activity in the post‐heparin serum from the women who were not pregnant or taking oral contraceptives was significantly greater than the activity from the non‐pregnant women who were taking oral contraceptives and from the pregnant women. No significant difference was found by any determination between the normal pregnant and the eclamptic groups. On the fifth postpartum day the responses of the normal pregnant and eclamptic groups resembled more closely those of the non‐pregnant women who were not taking oral contraceptives, but in general were not quite as large.