The variable anticoagulant response to unfractionated heparin in vivo reflects binding to plasma proteins rather than clearance

The anticoagulant response to fixed doses of unfractionated heparin is variable in patients with acute illness, and some patients with venous thromboembolism require high doses of heparin to achieve a therapeutic anticoagulant response. To investigate the mechanism responsible for the variable anticoagulant response to heparin in acute illness, heparin clearance and nonspecific protein binding were compared in control and endotoxin-treated …