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Two-day treatment with activator (equimolar streptokinase-human plasminogen complex) was given to 26 patients. Indications were chronic arterial occlusion and stenosis of the lower-limb arteries (25 patients), and thrombosis of the subclavian veins. The onset of claudication had on average been 7.5 months previously, average walking distance 288 metres. Five occlusions of iliac arteries and three of femoral arteries were removed. In addition, stenosis of the aorta (one case), the iliac artery (ten cases) and femoral artery (one case) was partly removed. Occlusion of the axillary vein was also removed. Average duration of the successfully treated occlusions was 4.3 months. Those stenoses that responded to activator had the well-known morphological criteria for fibrinolysis. The walking distance of the patients increased from an average of 288 to 401 metres. Activator treatment was well tolerated. No serious, especially cerebral, complications occurred. The most striking laboratory finding was of circulating plasmin during the entire duration of the infusion.

In young patients with the described symptoms abdominal coarctation should be included in the differential diagnosis.