Role of Thrombocytic-Vascular Hemostasis in the Development of Pulmonary Complications in Severe Brain Injury

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to define a role of thrombocytic-vascular hemostasis in the development of pulmonary complications in severe brain injury. Forty-six patients with severe brain injury were studied over time. Thrombocytic-vascular hemostasis was evaluated by the venous and arterial blood count of platelets and their aggregation induced by epinephrine, ristomycin, and adenosine diphosphate. The studies indicated that there was a reduction in the count of platelets in both venous and arterial blood. At the same time, with a greater degree of lung lesion, there were a reduction and cessation of the venous-arterial difference by the count of platelets, as well as an increase in the aggregatory properties of platelets, which was most profound in arterial blood. The progressive reduction in the levels of platelets in both venous and arterial blood reflected the involvement of platelets in aggregates, on the one hand, and a response to pulmonary vascular endothelial damage and the severity of lung lesion, on the other.

Keywords

• thrombocytic-vascular hemostasis
• platelets
• severe brain injury
• pulmonary complications
• acute respiratory distress syndrome