[Hematic parameters in chronic hypoxemia]

The hematic effects of hypoxia have been studied in 184 patients divided in four groups: 1) 10 patients with pO2 values in capillary blood lower than 43 mmHg; 2) 40 patients with pO2 between 43 and 50 mmHg; 3) 134 subjects with pO2 between 51 and 62 mmHg; and 4) 39 normal subjects (control). Hypoxemic subjects show higher erythrocyte concentrations than normoxemic ones, but without reaching the point of polycythemia and without significant differences in the hemoglobin concentration. The values of the mean corpuscular volume, the mean corpuscular hemoglobin and the concentration of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin show no significant differences between the groups. The amplitude of the red corpuscle distribution has not shown statistically significant differences between the groups of more pronounced hypoxia and those of slight hypoxia and control. The hematocrit, determined in the autoanalyzer, does not show any significant differences between the groups, whereas the one obtained by centrifugation is higher in the hypoxemic groups. Differences are non-significant in platelet count, mean platelet volume, and platelet distribution among the groups. The leucocyte count yields progressively higher values as blood pO2 decreases, with an accompanying increase in the percentage of neutrophyle granulocytes and a decrease in lymphocytes. Leucocytes with peroxidasic activity are significantly higher when the oxygen offer is lower.