The role of erytrocyte deformability in the prolonged bleeding time in liver disease patients

Hematocrit (Ht), red cell deformability (RCD) determined using a filtration method and bleeding time (BT) have been studied in 28 patients with severe chronic liver disease. Our results show a decrease of Ht (p less than 0.001), RCD (p less than 0.05) and a prolongation of BT (p less than 0.001) not related to the platelet count. Moreover, inverse relationships between Ht and BT (r = -0.52; p less than 0.01) and between RCD and BT (r = -0.54; p less than 0.01) have been found. We conclude that hemorheological alterations, such as decreased Ht and RCD, play an important role in primary hemostasis of patients with chronic liver disease.