Hypofibrinogenemia Due to L-Asparaginase: Studies of Fibrinogen Survival Using Autologous ¹³¹I-Fibrinogen

Plasma fibrinogen levels fall, often dramatically, in patients receiving L-asparaginase. Studies of six patients using autologous ¹³¹I-fibrinogen showed that at a dose of 1000 I.U./kg./day L-asparaginase had no effect on their rates of fibrinogen disappearance. The fall in their plasma fibrinogen levels, therefore, must have been a result of decreased synthesis since it could not be ascribed to increased utilization or destruction of fibrinogen.