Fibrinogen test is a test usually ordered when testing for the blood clotting abilities of the body. The test is almost always ordered along with a panel of other clotting tests such as the prothrombin time (PT) or the Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT), both of which can help evaluate the time it takes for human blood to clot. The Fibrinogen test may also be ordered as a follow up test if the PT and the PTT tests are found to be abnormal. If there is unexplained bleeding for long periods of time, the doctor may consider ordering a fibrinogen test. Other tests that may be ordered along with the fibrinogen tests are the platelets count, fibrin degradation products, and a D-dimer test.
Sometimes, the Fibrinogen test may also be ordered to monitor the progression of diseases such as liver disease or disseminated intravascular coagulation. The fibrinogen test results directly correspond to the body’s ability of clotting blood. If the concentrations of fibrinogen are reduced in the body, the body will not have the ability to clot blood properly. This also means that if the fibrinogen test results are abnormally low, the body is incapable of clotting blood efficiently.
There are many reasons why fibrinogen test results may be abnormal. Inherited diseases like afibrinogenemia can cause a decreased production of clotting factors—especially fibrinogen. Severe malnutrition or liver disease may also cause decreased production of fibrinogen. Additionally, there are several disorders like disseminated intravascular coagulation which can consume the fibrinogen present in the body, causing the lowering of fibrinogen levels in the body.
Fibrinogen test reports that reflect normal fibrinogen levels correspond to the normal clotting ability of the blood. It is rare for a person to have abnormal fibrinogen functioning despite having normal fibrinogen levels. This condition is usually caused by the production of an abnormal fibrinogen protein, known as dysfibrinogenemia. There are other specialized tests to check for this disorder.
If the fibrinogen test values are more than that in the normal ranges it is because the fibrinogen concentrations rise sharply when the body is experiencing internal inflammation, cancers, or tissue damage. Though there is no specific indication of the exact problem that causes a rise in fibrinogen, abnormal fibrinogen test results showing higher than normal values of fibrinogen are usually followed up by other diagnostic tests. Sometimes, the elevations of fibrinogen levels are temporary. The levels usually return to normal when the underlying condition is treated successfully.