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Non-occlusive bleeding times may improve the value of Ivy bleeding times
1Department of Medicine, Montefiore Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15213.
The present studies measured bleeding times, without venous occlusion, in a series of patients, whose bleeding times (+ venostasis) consistently exceeded 20 min. During these tests, the amount of blood loss (expressed as mg/min) was also quantitated. To allow comparison, normal controls were studied before and following aspirin ingestion. In normal controls, the mean standard Ivy bleeding time was 5.0 with a range of 2.5 to 7.5 min. Two hours after aspirin (650 mg), this increased to 7.3 min (range 4.0-12.0). For comparison, the non-occlusive bleeding time averaged 3.8 min (1.0-6.5) and after aspirin 5.3 min (2.5-11.5). The measured amount of blood loss was 5.0 mg/min (0-10.5 mg/min) under all of the above conditions. At the other extreme, patients with severe bone marrow failure had occluded and non-occluded bleeding times in excess of 20 min. Moreover, these were often associated with excess blood loss. By contrast, patients with "Ivy" values greater than 20 min in association with platelet counts greater than 10,000/microliters had unpredictable bleeding parameters. In the latter group, the non-occluded values ranged from 1 to greater than 20 min. Of particular note, the non-occlusive times appeared to correlate with spontaneous bleeding manifestations. Only a rare patient (1/37), whose non-occluded value was less than 20 min, had worrisome bleeding. By contrast, serious bleeding manifestations were observed in 39% whose non-occluded value exceeded 20 min. This was even higher (64%) in those with a non-occluded value greater than 20 min and excess blood loss.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The present studies measured bleeding times, without venous occlusion, in a series of patients, whose bleeding times (+ venostasis) consistently exceeded 20 min. During these tests, the amount of blood loss (expressed as mg/min) was also quantitated. To allow comparison, normal controls were studied before and following aspirin ingestion. In normal controls, the mean standard Ivy bleeding time was 5.0 with a range of 2.5 to 7.5 min. Two hours after aspirin (650 mg), this increased to 7.3 min (range 4.0-12.0). For comparison, the non-occlusive bleeding time averaged 3.8 min (1.0-6.5) and after aspirin 5.3 min (2.5-11.5). The measured amount of blood loss was 5.0 mg/min (0-10.5 mg/min) under all of the above conditions. At the other extreme, patients with severe bone marrow failure had occluded and non-occluded bleeding times in excess of 20 min. Moreover, these were often associated with excess blood loss. By contrast, patients with "Ivy" values greater than 20 min in association with platelet counts greater than 10,000/microliters had unpredictable bleeding parameters. In the latter group, the non-occluded values ranged from 1 to greater than 20 min. Of particular note, the non-occlusive times appeared to correlate with spontaneous bleeding manifestations. Only a rare patient (1/37), whose non-occluded value was less than 20 min, had worrisome bleeding. By contrast, serious bleeding manifestations were observed in 39% whose non-occluded value exceeded 20 min. This was even higher (64%) in those with a non-occluded value greater than 20 min and excess blood loss.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)