Influence of systemic inflammation on the interpretation of response to antiplatelet therapy, monitored by PFA-100.

Recently it was shown that inflammation adversely influences results obtained with the Platelet Function Analyzer System PFA-100, hypothesizing that inflammation could confound interpretation of platelet function results. We investigated the clinical relevance of these results in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), with and without signs of systemic inflammation. In 98 PAOD patients, all treated with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), we measured PFA-100 closure times with the collagen-epinephrine test cartridges.

Platelet aggregation and blood rheology in severe sepsis/septic shock: relation to the Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score.

Abnormalities in blood rheology and platelet dysfunction might play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple organ failure in septic patients by reducing microvascular blood flow. To determine whether alterations in blood rheology and in platelet function are related to the severity of organ dysfunction, we prospectively studied plasma fibrinogen, red cell aggregation, plasma viscosity, hematocrit, whole blood viscosity and platelet aggregation in relation to the Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score in 34 consecutive patients with severe sepsis/septic shock. We found that patients had higher plasma fibrinogen, red cell aggregation and plasma viscosity (p < 0.

Blood rheology in deep venous thrombosis--relation to persistent and transient risk factors.

Introduction: The risk of recurrence in patients with symptomatic deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is higher in patients with persistent risk factors than in patients with transient risk factors. The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the course of rheological variables in patients with DVT up to 1 year after the acute event in relation to risk factors.

Patients And Methods: In 37 patients with proven DVT plasma fibrinogen, plasma viscosity, red cell aggregation, whole blood viscosity, hematocrit and platelet aggregation were studied in the acute phase, at 6 weeks and at 12 months.