In the case of COVID-19, many people develop a tendency of increased blood clotting; this is why doctors often prescribe anticoagulants—blood-thinning drugs—during treatment.
A study published in the journal Scientific Reports found that in addition to an increased risk of blood clotting, patients with the coronavirus also had a higher risk of bleeding; this risk can be confirmed by biomarkers, which appear in the later stages of the disease.
The aforesaid study included 118 COVID-19 patients and 30 healthy people. In patients with COVID-19, the researchers expected a high level of plasminogen-1 activator inhibitor, a molecule associated with thrombus stabilization, but a low level of tissue plasminogen activator, a molecule responsible for clot removal.
During the study, almost half of the patients were connected to ventilators, whereas one-fourth of them were breathing on their own. Patients requiring extra oxygen had higher levels of plasminogen-1 activator inhibitors than the patients breathing on their own, but not of tissue plasminogen activator.
