Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Apr 2021
Capillary Leukocytes, Microaggregates, and the Response to Hypoxemia in the Microcirculation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients.
In this study, we hypothesized that coronavirus disease 2019 patients exhibit sublingual microcirculatory alterations caused by inflammation, coagulopathy, and hypoxemia. ⋯ The response of the microcirculation to coronavirus disease 2019-induced hypoxemia seems to be to increase its oxygen-extraction capacity by increasing RBC availability. Inflammation and hypercoagulation are apparent in the microcirculation by increased numbers of leukocytes and RBC microaggregates.