2004/12/17 by Yuko Wada · 22 citations
Medicine · #Venous Thromboembolism Diagnosis and Management #Hematological disorders and diagnostics #Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment #Medicine #Intensive care unit #Platelet #Thrombosis #Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) #Internal medicine #Internal jugular vein #Intensive care medicine #Anesthesia #Surgery #Disease #Infectious disease (medical specialty)
paper · pdf · doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.038521
published in Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 76(1), 142-143 (BMJ)
openalex publication_date 2004/12/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Thrombocytopenia is common in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting due to endogenous and iatrogenic factors. Despite that, thrombocytopenia in patients with severe COVID-19 infections is surprisingly uncommon. By examining the blood film of 20 ICU patients with COVID-19, we observed the presence of platelet aggregates and macrothrombocytes indicating increased platelet activity. We compared these findings with 20 blood films of non-severe COVID-19 cases where these findings were absent. These morphology features could be consistent with severe COVID-19 infection and is further evidence of the important role that platelets play when COVID-19 manifests with thrombotic complications or respiratory failure.