MEASUREMENT OF PLATELET REGENERATION TIME IN CARDIOVASCULAR PATIENTS

Platelet regeneration time (PRT), based on assessment of platelet MDA-production before and after intake of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), was determined using a sensitive and semi-automated method in 12 healthy volunteers and 28 patients with either prosthetic heart valves, aorto-iliac grafts or various forms of occlusive vascular disease. The results obtained confirm previous observations based on 51Cr-platelet survival times (PST) that platelet turnover is significantly enhanced in patients bearing prosthetic material and in a considerable proportion of patients with occlusive vascular disease. In 3 volunteers and in 4 out of 5 patients in whom PRT as well as PST were concomitantly determined, a reasonable agreement was found between turnover half-times obtained with the two methods. The validity of PRT-determination as an alternative to PST in cardiovascular patients is discussed. © 1979.