THROMBOCYTOPENIC EPISODES IN PATIENTS WITH WELL-FUNCTIONING RENAL-ALLOGRAFTS - INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLATELET COUNT AND PLATELET SIZE POINTING TO INTERMITTENT PLATELET DESTRUCTION

20 out of 50 patients with well-functioning renal allograft displayed at least one platelet count below 110x109/l (mean -2 SD of controls). For estimation of platelet production during thrombocytopenic episodes, the percentage of large platelets in the peripheral blood was determined which revealed an inverse relationship (p<0.01) to the platelet count, indicating that these thrombocytopenias were due to increased platelet consumption. Immunosuppressive treatment as well as rejection processes could be excluded as major pathogenetic factors whereas anti-platelet autoantibodies may contribute to this phenomenon.