Skip to main content
PMC home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1988 Jan;43(1):61–64. doi: 10.1136/thx.43.1.61

Platelet size in patients with chronic airflow obstruction with and without hypoxaemia.

J A Wedzicha 1, F E Cotter 1, D W Empey 1
PMCID: PMC461099  PMID: 3353876

Abstract

Platelet size, expressed as mean platelet volume, was estimated in 35 patients with chronic airflow obstruction and a wide range of arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) values. In these patients there was a negative correlation between MPV and PaO2 (r = -0.70). Mean platelet volume was greater (9.41 (0.86) fl) in 20 patients with an arterial PaO2 of 8 kPa (60 mm Hg) or less than in 18 normal subjects (8.21 (0.63) fl; p less than 0.001). After 24 hours of supplemental oxygen treatment there was a small fall in mean platelet volume, from 9.47 (1.06) to 8.96 (0.8) fl (p less than 0.05) in 12 hypoxaemic patients (PaO2 breathing air less than or equal to 8 kPa) but no change in nine non-hypoxaemic patients. Larger platelets are considered to be haemostatically more active, leading to abnormal platelet function, which may contribute to the development of pulmonary vascular damage in chronic hypoxaemia. Supplemental oxygen may partially reverse these changes by modifying platelet size and activity.

Full text

PDF
62

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cameron H. A., Phillips R., Ibbotson R. M., Carson P. H. Platelet size in myocardial infarction. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 Aug 13;287(6390):449–451. doi: 10.1136/bmj.287.6390.449. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cordova C., Musca A., Violi F., Alessandri C., Perrone A., Balsano F. Platelet hyperfunction in patients with chronic airways obstruction. Eur J Respir Dis. 1985 Jan;66(1):9–12. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gray G. W., Bryan A. C., Freedman M. H., Houston C. S., Lewis W. F., McFadden D. M., Newell G. Effect of altitude exposure on platelets. J Appl Physiol. 1975 Oct;39(4):648–652. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1975.39.4.648. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Johnson T. S., Ellis J. H., Steele P. P. Improvement of platelet survival time with oxygen in patients with chronic obstructive airway disease. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1978 Feb;117(2):255–257. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1978.117.2.255. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Karpatkin S. Heterogeneity of human platelets. I. Metabolic and kinetic evidence suggestive of young and old platelets. J Clin Invest. 1969 Jun;48(6):1073–1082. doi: 10.1172/JCI106063. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Karpatkin S. Heterogeneity of human platelets. II. Functional evidence suggestive of young and old platelets. J Clin Invest. 1969 Jun;48(6):1083–1087. doi: 10.1172/JCI106064. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kivity S., Souhrada J. F. Plasma and platelets potentiate a hypoxic vascular response of the isolated lung. J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1981 Oct;51(4):875–880. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1981.51.4.875. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kjeldsen K., Thomsen H. K. The effect of hypoxia on the fine structure of the aortic intima in rabbits. Lab Invest. 1975 Nov;33(5):533–543. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Langdon J. R., McDonald T. P. Effects of chronic hypoxia on platelet production in mice. Exp Hematol. 1977 May;5(3):191–198. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mannucci P. M., Sharp A. A. Platelet volume and shape in relation to aggregation and adhesion. Br J Haematol. 1967 Jul;13(4):604–617. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1967.tb00768.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Martin J. F., Plumb J., Kilbey R. S., Kishk Y. T. Changes in volume and density of platelets in myocardial infarction. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 Aug 13;287(6390):456–459. doi: 10.1136/bmj.287.6390.456. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Martin J. F., Slater D. N., Trowbridge E. A. Abnormal intrapulmonary platelet production: a possible cause of vascular and lung disease. Lancet. 1983 Apr 9;1(8328):793–796. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(83)91851-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Penington D. G., Lee N. L., Roxburgh A. E., McGready J. R. Platelet density and size: the interpretation of heterogeneity. Br J Haematol. 1976 Nov;34(3):365–376. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1976.tb03583.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Thompson C. B., Jakubowski J. A., Quinn P. G., Deykin D., Valeri C. R. Platelet size as a determinant of platelet function. J Lab Clin Med. 1983 Feb;101(2):205–213. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Trowbridge E. A., Martin J. F., Slater D. N. Evidence for a theory of physical fragmentation of megakaryocytes, implying that all platelets are produced in the pulmonary circulation. Thromb Res. 1982 Nov 15;28(4):461–475. doi: 10.1016/0049-3848(82)90163-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES