Platelet hyperreactivity in hemodialysis patients with frequently occluded vascular access.

It is known that thrombosis is a leading cause of vascular access failure and that the formation of thrombus requires platelets. The activation of platelets induces the increase in intracellular Ca 2(+) levels ([Ca(2+)](i)) leading to aggregation and thrombosis. We compared the platelet [Ca(2+)](i) before and after stimulation between the patients with and without easily occluded vascular access.