European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery
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Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg · Oct 2003
von Willebrand factor and platelet count in ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.
von Willebrand factor (vWF) is essential for the formation of platelet aggregates at sites of vascular endothelial cell (EC) injury. Peri-operative thrombocytopenia is associated with poor outcome in ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. This prospective study examines the relationship between vWF and platelet count (PC) in ruptured AAA repair. ⋯ these data demonstrate that EC activation, the acute phase protein response, operative blood loss and aortic clamp time all contribute to the peri-operative fall in PC in patients with ruptured AAA. The peri-operative fall in circulating levels of vWF and PC may represent consumption secondary to macro- and microvascular thrombus formation. The resultant procoagulant state may partly explain the association between low PC and poor outcome in ruptured AAA.