Medical Health Encyclopedia

Fibrin degradation products

How the test will feel:

When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain, while others feel only a prick or stinging sensation. Afterward, there may be some throbbing.

Why the test is performed:

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As a result of the coagulation process, fibrinogen is split into fibrin monomer and fibrin. Fibrin monomer forms the fibrin polymer clot.

Coagulation factor inhibitors and plasmin (which eventually breaks down, or lyses, the fibrin clot) are simultaneously activated by damaged tissue, but they function more slowly and over a longer period of time than the coagulation factors. The most important of the coagulation inhibitors is antithrombin III, a protein that requires a chemical called heparin, which is made by the body, for its activity.

By measuring FDPs, your doctor can get an idea about the activity of your fibrinolytic (clot-dissolving) system. When plasmin dissolves fibrin blood clots, FDPs are formed. These FDPs, which have an anticoagulant effect and inhibit clotting, can be measured. When they are present in large amounts, they indicate increased fibrinolysis, or clot breakdown, as occurs in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and primary fibrinolytic disorders.

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