The Absolute Requirement Of Platelets During The Induction Phase Of Intravascular Coagulation

This study was conducted to ascertain the role of platelets during the induction phase of intravascular coagulation.

E. Coli endotoxin(1mg/kg) (Difo Laboratories, Detroit) was infused into a 10 control and 6 treated dogs. The treated animals had received 4 to 6 daily intramuscular injections of 6 cc. of a goat anti-dog platelet serum until their peripheral platelet counts were less than 10,000 mm³ at which time the experiment was conducted.

Control animals had a pre-infusion fibrinogen concentration of 237 mg/100 ml whereas the treated animals had 312 mg/100 ml. The fibrinogen concentration changed in response to the endotoxin according to the following table (numbers are percentage of pre-infusion, asterisks note ps≤0.05).

It has been suggested that platelets are not important in the etiology for intravascular coagulation. These investigators have focused upon the accumulation of emboli in the microcirculation and few have monitored the early alterations in coagulation factor concentrations. However in the canine model, the platelet is definitely a pivotal mediator of the coagulopathy experienced during early endotoxemia.