Objective: To characterize kininogens in plasma from surgical patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Design: Prospective study.
Setting: Surgical ICU.
Patients: 35 patients aged 19-79 years, divided into two groups: sepsis (defined by standard criteria) and nonsepsis.
Measurements and results: Studies of proteolytic degradation of H-kininogen showed degradation in both patient groups compared to healthy controls. Functional quantification of prekallikrein showed a reduction of prekallikrein in plasma from both patients groups. Functional quantification of kininogens by a cysteine proteinase inhibitor assay showed no significant differences between the patients and the controls. Immunological levels of H-kininogen and total kininogen were not significantly different from normal plasma. No differences could be detected between the two patient groups in any of the parameters studied.
Conclusions: This study showed that contact activation took place in surgical ICU patients: partial kinin release and consumption of prekallikrein took place in vivo.